A student being shown how to count bacterial cells using an optical microscope and a cell counting chamber.
Bacterial samples, either provided by collaborators, purchased or collected during field trips, are grown under optimal conditions, as well as under conditions which are representative of the subsurface or surface environments of Enceladus or Europa. Growth is monitored via cell counting, used to calibrate spectrophotometric turbidity measurements.
To simulate better the harsh surface conditions found on Jupiter's moon Europa, samples have been irradiated with >keV energy electrons at the Leibniz-Institut für Oberflächenmodifizierung in Leipzig. The samples are then processed and analysed using LILBID and the results compared with those from unirradiated bacteria.