While most of us are now more choosy about keeping our homes and workplaces clean, cleanliness on board the International Space Station is imperative.
Antibacterial measures are of great importance, as bacteria tend to accumulate in the constantly recycled air in the ISS.
Every Saturday in space is a “cleaning day” where surfaces are wiped and the astronauts vacuum and collect debris.
But there is one place on board the station where cleaning is a no-no. But don’t worry, it’s all for science!
The MatISS experiment, or the Microbial Aerosol Tethering on Innovative Surfaces in the International Space Station, tests five advanced materials and how well they can prevent pathogenic microorganisms from settling and growing in microgravity.
MatISS has also provided insight into how biofilms adhere to surfaces in microgravity conditions.
The experiment is sponsored by the French space agency CNES and was conceived in 2016. Three iterations of the experiment have been used on the ISS.
The first was MatISS-1, and four sample containers were set up for six months at three different locations in the European Columbus laboratory module.
This provided some basic data points for researchers because when they were brought back to Earth, researchers characterized the deposits on each surface and used the control material to establish a reference for the level and type of contamination.
MatISS-2 had four identical sample holders with three different types of materials installed at one location in Columbus. This study was designed to better understand how contamination spreads over time on the hydrophobic (water-repellent) and control surfaces.
The upgraded Matiss-2.5 was set up to study how contamination spreads – this time spatially – across the hydrophobic surfaces using pattern samples. This experiment took a year and the samples were recently returned to Earth and are now being analyzed.
The samples are made from a diverse mix of advanced materials, such as self-assembly monolayers, green polymers, ceramic polymers and hydrophobic hybrid silica.
The smart materials must prevent bacteria from attaching and growing over large surfaces, making them effectively easier to clean and more hygienic. The experiment hopes to find out which materials work best.
ESA says that “understanding the effectiveness and potential uses of these materials will be essential to the design of future spacecraft, especially those that transport humans into space as fathers.”
Long-term manned space missions will certainly have to limit the biocontamination of astronauts’ habitats.
This article was originally published by Universe Today. Read the original article.