Journal
LIFE-BASEL
Volume 11, Issue 6, Pages -Publisher
MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/life11060492
Keywords
microbial monitoring; qPCR; International Space Station (ISS); microbiome; Environmental Control and Life Support Systems (ECLSS); closed environment; microgravity
Categories
Funding
- NASA ISS Office
- NASA AES Program
- NASA, KSC CIF Program
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The research explored the environmental monitoring systems and technologies needed in closed space environments, successfully testing an instrument for microbial monitoring. Tests conducted on the space station showed that this technology can effectively detect target microorganisms, enhancing crew safety.
Closed environments such as the International Space Station (ISS) and spacecraft for other planned interplanetary destinations require sustainable environmental control systems for manned spaceflight and habitation. These systems require monitoring for microbial contaminants and potential pathogens that could foul equipment or affect the health of the crew. Technological advances may help to facilitate this environmental monitoring, but many of the current advances do not function as expected in reduced gravity conditions. The microbial monitoring system (RAZOR(R) EX) is a compact, semi-quantitative rugged PCR instrument that was successfully tested on the ISS using station potable water. After a series of technical demonstrations between ISS and ground laboratories, it was determined that the instruments functioned comparably and provided a sample to answer flow in approximately 1 hour without enrichment or sample manipulation. Post-flight, additional advancements were accomplished at Kennedy Space Center, Merritt Island, FL, USA, to expand the instrument's detections of targeted microorganisms of concern such as water, food-borne, and surface microbes including Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, and Aeromonas hydrophilia. Early detection of contaminants and bio-fouling microbes will increase crew safety and the ability to make appropriate operational decisions to minimize exposure to these contaminants.
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