Spacecraft Contamination Monitoring and Control

The indoor environmental quality control and thus environmental microbiology in space is very important in order to reduce potential hazards for the crew and the infrastructure, including health hazards of microbial origin. Many of the microorganisms of the microbial environment of a spacecraft or space station are pathogenic, and some exhibit biodestructive properties. Biological contaminants may affect life support systems and hardware and cause material damage by biocorrosion, biofilm development, and biodegradation. The special and specific environment of a spacecraft implies supplementary challenge for contamination monitoring and control.