INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION INTERNAL ENVIRONMENTS (ISS
INTERNAL ENVIRONMENTS)
Research Area: Technology Development and Demonstration: Spacecraft and
Orbital Environments
Expedition(s): 1-ongoing
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
Evaluation of the International Space Station
Internal Environment (ISS Internal Environment)
from air, water, and surface samples of
International Space Station (ISS) provides a baseline
of the contaminant characterization aboard the ISS.
All of the partner agencies recognize the
importance of crew health to mission success and
are dedicated to maintaining the health of all crew
members throughout all phases of ISS missions. The
data obtained from environmental monitoring
provides insight into the environmental
contamination during the stages of construction
and habitation of ISS.
EARTH BENEFITS
Understanding the effects of a closed space
environment on humans will increase the
knowledge of living in extreme conditions. Due to
widespread growth in the use of colloidal silver as a
biocidal agent, the development of a simple and
cost efficient method of silver testing is valuable.
SPACE BENEFITS
Environmental monitoring is vital to ensure crew
and spacecraft health during spaceflight. The
results are being used to identify specific effects of
a closed space environment on astronauts. This
knowledge will allow scientists to develop systems
that enable the crew to remain healthy on future
long-duration missions to the moon and Mars.
RESULTS
Several studies on ISS Internal Environments have been conducted; below is a sampling of the
results to date.
ISS010E11563 – An example of
contamination that has developed on one of
the interior panels aboard the International
Space Station (ISS). This image shows how
contamination can form on interior ISS
surfaces. Crews have weekly sessions to
clean ISS surfaces. The Surface, Water, and
Air Biocharacterization (SWAB) investigation
will help us understand the microbes involved
in contamination and how to deal with them.
NASA image.