Reviewing the state of biosensors and lab-on-a- chip technologies: opportunities for extreme environments and space exploration

The space race is entering a new era of exploration, in which the number robotic and human missions to various places our solar system rapidly increasing. Despite recent advances propulsion life support technologies, there growing need perform analytical measurements laboratory experiments across diverse domains science, while keeping low payload requirements. In this context, lab-on-a-chip nanobiosensors appear be an emerging technology capable revolutionizing given their footprint, high accuracy, To date, only some approaches for monitoring astronaut health spacecraft environments have been reported. Although non-invasive molecular diagnostics, like technology, are expected improve quality long-term missions, application monitor microbiological environmental variables rarely reported, even analogous extreme on Earth. possibility evaluating occurrence unknown or unexpected species, identifying redox gradients relevant microbial metabolism, testing specific possible biosignatures, will play key role future microbiology. review, we examine current potential roles exploration environment investigation, reporting what has tested so far, clarifying direction toward newly developed technologies portable sensors heading space.