{
  "abstract": "Biological exposure experiments under near-space conditions remain limited by the high cost and low accessibility of spaceflight platforms, motivating low-cost analog approaches for initial screening. Stratospheric balloon flights offer a practical route to near-space exposure experiments relevant to space biology and astrobiology. Here we report an exploratory assessment of four green microalgae (Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, Chlorella vulgaris, Scenedesmus obliquus, and Parachlorella kessleri) flown in a custom-built ~ 2 kg payload equipped with heating, LED illumination, UV sensing, and GPS. Thirty-six microalgal samples (4 mL each) were flown during a ~ 2.5 h stratospheric mission, including ~ 30–60 min at 25–35 km altitude, within a total mission cost of < $4000. In total, 54 microalgal cuvettes were flown in two stratospheric missions to evaluate post-flight integrity, and recovered samples were recultivated under standardized conditions and analyzed two weeks post-flight for pigment composition and antioxidant-related parameters. After flight, 29/54 samples (53.7%) were classified as visually undamaged after landing, while damage was associated with freezing (13/54; 24.1%), thermal damage (13/54; 24.1%, partly overlapping), loss due to containment failure (5/54; 9.3%), or non-recoverable material (3/54; 5.6%). In recultivated biomass, Near-space-exposed cultures showed significant shifts in pigment profiles (reduced chlorophyll a and/or b in multiple species) and increased total antioxidant capacity, indicating persistent physiological differences following the mission workflow. These results provide quantitative benchmarks for microalgal near-space exposure using a low-cost balloon platform and motivate follow-up studies with higher replication and direct functional stress readouts.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Mendel University in Brno",
    "Valašské Meziříčí Observatory",
    "Spacemanic Ltd",
    "Department of Informatics, Mendel University in Brno"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 13,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Katarína Molnárová"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Lukáš Mikša"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Jan Zítka"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Jan Šílený"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Martin Füleky"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Ondřej Pěnčík"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Libor Lenža"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Martina Koláčková"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Vedran Milosavljević"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Jakub Kapuš"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Oldřich Trenz"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Michaela Veselá"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Radim Farana"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/er2h60wa7qv3r.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1038/s41598-026-62687-w",
  "fulltext_url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-62687-w",
  "id": "er2h60wa7qv3r",
  "issns": [
    "2045-2322"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-62687-w",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "lcc",
      "Q"
    ],
    [
      "lcc",
      "R"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2737|Spaceflight effects on biology"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7170056944",
  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-07-01",
  "publisher": "Nature Portfolio",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/er2h60wa7qv3r.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T13:45:54Z",
      "native_id": "d8acec227c7c4819be8a6598baf9f944",
      "source": "doaj",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-62687-w"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "openalex:2737|Spaceflight effects on biology",
      "subfield": "physiology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Assessing the susceptibility of microalgae to space conditions using stratospheric balloons",
  "title_text": "Assessing the susceptibility of microalgae to space conditions using stratospheric balloons",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T13:45:54Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/er2h60wa7qv3r",
  "venue": "Scientific Reports",
  "versions": []
}