Medical and Hospital News
SPACE MEDICINE
Keeping mold out of future space stations
illustration only
Keeping mold out of future space stations
by Tatyana Woodal
Columbus OH (SPX) Sep 12, 2024

Mold can survive the harshest of environments, so to stop harmful spores from growing on future space stations, a new study suggests a novel way to prevent its spread.

Researchers created a predictive approach for modeling unintended microbial growth in critical spaces and applied it to life on the International Space Station.

An analysis of dust samples obtained from the space station found that repeated elevated humidity exposures for even a short time can lead to rapid microbial growth and composition changes in dust that make it easier for microbes, such as fungi, to thrive.

The study provides important insight into how healthy environments might be maintained during future missions, especially as the commercial space industry begins to prompt more people to live and work above Earth, said Karen Dannemiller, senior author of the study and an associate professor of civil, environmental and geodetic engineering and environmental health sciences at The Ohio State University.

"It's really important to understand the exposures that happen in the space environment in part because we see immune system changes in astronauts," she said. "People who are normally healthy individuals may be especially vulnerable to microbes in space, more so than on Earth."

The study was published today in the journal Microbiome.

Historically, many spacecraft have had issues with unintended microbial growth because, much like a typical home on Earth, they, too, are environments that tend to trap the moisture humans emit. On the ISS, dust is usually produced by people as they go about their daily activities, but left unchecked, these floating particles can cause a range of negative health issues for the crew, such as asthma or allergies, and degrade building materials and equipment.

To ensure that dust levels aboard the ISS are carefully controlled, every week astronauts must clean the protective screens that cover the filters of the space station's air ventilation system. In this study, four separate vacuum bag samples of the dust collected from these housekeeping chores were sent down to Dannemiller's team to be tested.

After incubating the samples for two weeks at different relative humidities to simulate a scenario where an unexpected event, such as a temporary air ventilation system failure, could cause bursts of moisture, analysis revealed that fungi and bacteria can grow in the same concentrated amounts as dust collected from residential homes on the ground.

"Spacecraft actually aren't that different from what we see on Earth in terms of having a unique indoor microbiome," said Nicholas Nastasi, lead author of the study and a postdoctoral researcher at Ohio State's Indoor Environmental Quality Laboratory. "If you put people in a space, there will always be microbes there, so it's important to prevent their spread because once it starts, it's often not too easy to get rid of."

Spacecraft are especially prone to microbial growth because they are enclosed environments where humans constantly exhale moisture. If that moisture builds up, mold can begin to grow, as seen in past space stations such as Mir. Although the ISS has much improved controls for moisture, unexpected situations can still easily occur, said Nastasi.

Additionally, while Earth and space environments are complex in their own unique ways, the two more often than not contain similar core microbial communities, Nastasi said. Moreover, staying knowledgeable about the evolution of these communities will make certain that vulnerable individuals both on- and off-world have the information needed to maintain a healthy indoor microbiome on the space station.

"In designing some of our current space station systems, we've already learned a lot of really important lessons in terms of how to keep moisture under control," said Dannemiller. "Now we're learning even more that we can use to advance these systems in the future."

In general, the study also suggests that the team's research could later aid the development of planetary protection protocols aimed at preventing contamination of Earth or any other celestial bodies humans may visit.

Next, the team will likely work to discover what effect other untested spaceflight variables, such as microgravity, radiation and elevated carbon dioxide levels, have on microbial growth in similar working space stations, like NASA's lunar station Gateway or other imminent commercial projects. Many of their upcoming projects will also benefit from Ohio State's terrestrial analog of the George Washington Carver Science Park, a replica of Starlab space station science park that will allow researchers to conduct parallel missions on the ground.

"There's a lot of other unique spaceflight factors we can potentially add to these microbial models to make them more accurate and useful," said Nastasi. "We'll keep refining what we do to maintain those healthy space environments and having unprecedented access to a platform such as Starlab will help immensely."

This study was supported by NASA. Other Ohio State co-authors were Ashleigh Bope, Marit E. Meyer and John M. Horack.

Research Report:Predicting how varying moisture conditions impact the microbiome of dust collected from the International Space Station

Related Links
Ohio State University
Space Medicine Technology and Systems

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
SPACE MEDICINE
NASA conducts key telemedicine and health research with Polaris Dawn Crew
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Sep 12, 2024
NASA is set to gain significant new insights through a range of experiments aboard a commercial spaceflight, reinforcing the agency's scientific efforts as it aims for deeper space exploration to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. These experiments are part of the Polaris Dawn mission, which launched earlier today aboard SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket. The Polaris Dawn crew - Jared Isaacman, Scott "Kidd" Poteet, Sarah Gillis, and Anna Menon - will contribute to critical health and h ... read more

SPACE MEDICINE
Baby killed, several trapped in Mexico landslide

Senegal migrant shipwreck death toll rises to at least 39: navy

'Lost everything': survivor tells of deadly Vietnam landslide horror

Trial removal of nuclear debris from Fukushima reactor begins

SPACE MEDICINE
OneWeb Technologies unveils Astra PNT Solution for GPS-Denied Environments

Mathematical Proof Confirms Five Satellites Required for Precise GPS Navigation

Galileo satellites enter service after in-orbit testing

LEO satellites enhance GPS accuracy through ground station integration

SPACE MEDICINE
Neanderthals' isolated lifestyle may have contributed to their extinction

AI unlocks new understanding of human cognition through brain research

Researchers explore population movement patterns in the Indo-Pacific

Over half of world population have social benefits, a first: UN

SPACE MEDICINE
Zimbabwe to cull 200 elephants amid food shortages

Arctic microalgae photosynthesize in near-darkness, study finds

Two billion termites in two weeks: How Amur falcons cross the Arabian Sea

Rare twin elephants take first steps in Myanmar

SPACE MEDICINE
'Virus hunters' track threats to head off next pandemic

Italy records year's first indigenous case of dengue fever

US patient dies from rare mosquito-borne disease

As climate warms, S. Korea fights new border threat: malarial mosquitoes

SPACE MEDICINE
Hong Kong man faces jail over 'seditious' T-shirt

China frees US pastor detained for nearly two decades

'When can I get my pension?' Chinese process rise in retirement age

German activist for Tibet issues says denied entry to Hong Kong

SPACE MEDICINE
Pay up or move out: Drug gangs rob Ecuadorans of homes

UN warns Iraq becoming major regional drug conduit

Guns n' ganja: Weapons flood Catalonia's cannabis trade

Spain, France bust million-euro-a-day money laundering network

SPACE MEDICINE
Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.