title: Lunar astrobiology: a review and suggested laboratory equipment.
abstract: In October of 2005, the European Space Agency (ESA) and Alcatel Alenia Spazio released a "call to academia for innovative concepts and technologies for lunar exploration." In recent years, interest in lunar exploration has increased in numerous space programs around the globe, and the purpose of our study, in response to the ESA call, was to draw on the expertise of researchers and university students to examine science questions and technologies that could support human astrobiology activity on the Moon. In this mini review, we discuss astrobiology science questions of importance for a human presence on the surface of the Moon and we provide a summary of key instrumentation requirements to support a lunar astrobiology laboratory.
authors.affiliation: Planetary and Space Sciences Research Institute, Open University, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom. A.L.Gronstal@open.ac.uk
authors.forename: Aaron
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gronstal
authors.forename: Charles S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Cockell
authors.forename: Maria Antonietta
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Perino
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bittner
authors.forename: Erik
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Clacey
authors.forename: Olathe
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Clark
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ingold
authors.forename: Catarina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Alves de Oliveira
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wathiong
mesh_terms: D018559:Exobiology / Q000295:instrumentation; D005118:Extraterrestrial Environment; D006801:Humans; D007753:Laboratories; D016081:Moon; D012107:Research Design