Microbial succession in an inflated lunar/Mars analog habitat during a 30-day human occupation.

ABSTRACT:

Background

For potential future human missions to the Moon or Mars and sustained presence in the International Space Station, a safe enclosed habitat environment for astronauts is required. Potential microbial contamination of closed habitats presents a risk for crewmembers due to reduced human immune response during long-term confinement. To make future habitat designs safer for crewmembers, lessons learned from characterizing analogous habitats is very critical. One of the key issues is that how human presence influences the accumulation of microorganisms in the closed habitat.

Results

Molecular technologies, along with traditional microbiological methods, were utilized to catalog microbial succession during a 30-day human occupation of a simulated inflatable lunar/Mars ha

SUBMITTER: Mayer T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4890489 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature