William Atkins
Saturday, 21 March 2009 21:15
Science -
Space
Page 2 of 3
Maule, stated,
"Fabrics could be a significant source of biological contamination on the Moon and Mars and are trickier to clean than smooth metal surfaces.”
The Q-tip is part of the LOCAD system that checks for microbes on the spacesuit of the astronauts. The check was also made when the two spacewalkers re-entered the airlock after their excursion—extravehicular activity (EVA)—outside the Space Station.
The NASA article stated,
“They ran the test, called the LOCAD-PTS Exploration experiment, because humans will one day exit a different airlock: on a spaceship on Mars. And they'll need to be sure they're not about to taint the Red Planet and its potential life forms with human microorganisms. Explorers will be intent upon bringing back pristine geological samples from Mars for analysis."
Maule commented,
“This experiment will show how to integrate quick bio-monitoring tests of spacesuits into the very busy periods before and after EVA, when procedures need to be streamlined and efficient."
And,
"LOCAD is quick and easy, so it can be used during those times without too much interference. It takes only about 10 seconds to swab and 15 minutes to get the results."
The NASA article mentions,
“Because astronauts can't yet take a LOCAD Q-tip outside the airlock to sample individual sites on the truss as Maule and West did on the ground, they tested the spacesuit gloves instead. Members of the LOCAD team tracked the space walk, noting which handrails and gap spanners the astronauts touched.”
Maule added,
"If the crew comes into contact with a few of those gap spanners, we expect to see higher LOCAD readings (for glucan) after EVA.”
Page three concludes with possible microbes in the human belly button (navel).
