Context and Objectives 

To protect astrobiological and chemical investigations, space missions must comply with COSPAR's Planetary Protection Policy, which manages the biological contamination of celestial bodies by assessing the microbial load on spacecraft. Historically, bacterial spores have been the go-to indicators due to their resilience. 

The standard NASA Standard Assay (NSA) relies on culturing heat-resistant, spore-forming microorganisms. However, this method is limited as it detects only a fraction of the microbial community, missing non-spore-forming organisms, anaerobes, and extremophiles. In response, molecular and biochemical methods have been proposed. Bioluminescent ATP assays are fast and sensitive but are susceptible to interference. 

Genomic methods (qPCR, metagenomics) allow for taxonomic identification, but the low concentration of nucleic acids in samples poses detection challenges, and their technical complexity remains a hurdle.

In this context, we propose a novel strategy for bioburden

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For more Information about the topics and the co-financial partner (found by the lab!); contact Directeur de thèse - pauline.poinot@univ-poitiers.fr

Then, prepare a resume, a recent transcript and a reference letter from your M2 supervisor/ engineering school director and you will be ready to apply online  before March 13th, 2026 Midnight Paris time!