Our inspiring stories No. 2: Alumni astrobiologists and explorers of (extra)terrestrial worlds

On the evening of Tuesday 8 October 2024, on the stage at the Rousseau Theatre at CentraleSupélec in Gif-sur-Yvette, two speakers took turns to talk about their careers and research, in front of an audience of students and curious attendees who were quickly fascinated with their compelling accounts. Caroline Freissinet and Cyprien Verseux are astrobiologists, or exobiologists. They focus on the processes that could lead to the emergence of life beyond Earth, as well as the potential indicators of extraterrestrial life, past or present. The pair took the audience on a journey through their explorations of extreme environments on Earth, its close neighbour Mars, and even as far as the icy moons of Jupiter and Saturn, hundreds of millions if not billions, of kilometres away. Their presentation was part of the series of alumni conference, Our inspiring stories (Nos belles histoires, in French), launched in December 2023 by Université Paris-Saclay, which aims to introduce the public to figures with particularly inspiring careers.

How do you become an exobiologist?

Both Caroline Freissinet and Cyprien Verseux agree that their careers to date have not followed any kind of set path. Instead, they have taken advantage of, or created, opportunities as they arose. "There isn't really a typical educational route to becoming an exobiologist," explains Cyprien. "Researchers come from a range of different disciplines." As a child, Cyprien dreamed of "searching for life on other planets" only to be told that "that's not a real job". As he grew older, he studied biology at the school of biotechnology engineers, Sup'Biotech, while concurrently taking a 2nd year Master’s degree in Systems & Synthetic Biology at the University Évry Paris-Saclay.

Realising that his childhood passion was indeed a real career, he secured, through sheer determination, an end-of-study internship at NASA in California. There he worked on a synthetic biology project applied to space exploration. After graduating, he began a PhD in molecular and cellular biology at the University of Rome Tor Vergata, co-supervised by NASA, focusing on the search for life on Mars and the development of biological life-support systems for the exploration of this planet.

Preparing for future human missions to Mars

It was during his PhD that Cyprien had some of his most unique experiences. In 2015, he was selected to join five other scientists on NASA's HI-SEAS IV (Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation) mission, spending 366 days isolated in a dome in Hawaii to simulate the conditions of a mission to Mars. 

In 2018, he embarked on another extraordinary adventure, spending a year in Antarctica as the Station Leader of the French-Italian Concordia research station. This station is managed by the French Polar Institute Paul-Émile Victor and the Programma Nazionale di Ricerche in Antartide, and the most isolated base on Earth, located in one of the most hostile environments. "Temperatures can drop to -80°C, and in early May, the sun sets for the last time, not to reappear again for three months." An experience which he shared with twelve other team members, during which time he defended his PhD thesis remotely.

Following his polar experience, in 2019, Cyprien founded the Laboratory of Applied Space Microbiology at ZARM (Center of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity) at the University of Bremen, Germany, where he continues to work today. Together with his team, he studies cyanobacteria, microorganisms capable of photosynthesis, and is focusing his research on developing biological systems that could produce some of the essential resources needed by a team of astronauts during a long-term mission on Mars, using materials they can find in the soil and atmosphere.

Mars exploration, Martian analogues on Earth and ocean worlds

Caroline's journey is just as unusual. As a teenager, she loved watching the TV series, The X-Files, in which FBI Special Agents Mulder and Scully investigate paranormal phenomena involving extraterrestrials. The show sparked her interest in extraterrestrial life. "It was also the first time we saw a female scientist as a heroine on TV. It inspired many women to pursue careers in science, including me!"

Caroline studied biology, becoming increasingly interested in the origins of life on Earth, in extreme conditions, and elsewhere in the solar system. After graduating with a degree in biochemistry and molecular biology from ENS Lyon and a 2nd year Master’s degree in evolutionary biology from Université Paris-Sud (now Université Paris-Saclay), and taking "a year off to study sheep in New Zealand", she embarked on a PhD in analytical chemistry applied to space at the École Centrale Paris (now CentraleSupélec). Her research focused on developing analytical chemical methods for the ExoMars mission, which is designed to study the Martian atmosphere and search for signs of past or present life using a rover and its instruments.

With her PhD completed, Caroline spent six years as a post-doctoral fellow in astrochemistry and planetary sciences at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, USA. On her return in 2017, she was recruited by the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and joined the Atmospheric Space Observations Laboratory (LATMOS - Univ. Paris-Saclay/UVSQ/CNRS/Sorbonne Univ.). Her work takes place with her "feet on Earth", in her laboratory and in field studies, through analytical chemistry studies on samples from extreme terrestrial environments that resemble extraterrestrial sites. But also "with her head in the stars", through the analysis of data collected by space probes and their onboard instruments. She is also involved in the construction of some of these instruments, such as those for the Dragonfly mission, set to launch to Saturn's icy moon, Titan, in 2028. Our inspiring stories continue in 2025 with new, equally inspiring teams. Don't miss the next event!

• Watch online the conference Our inspiring stories No. 2 with Caroline Freissinet and Cyprien Verseux (in French) : https://youtu.be/5KjxrKwScU0
• watch online the conference Our inspiring stories No. 1 with Bertrand Serlet and Michel Safars (in French) : https://youtu.be/yyE7UQIyK6M
   

Cet article est issu de L'Édition n°25. L'intégralité du journal est à découvrir ici en version numérique.
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