Short Title:
SWAB
Responsible HRP Element:
Space Human Factors and Habitability
Funding Status:
Completed - Task completed and produced a deliverable
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Procurement Mechanism(s):
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Aims:
- Comprehensively evaluate microbes on board the space station, including pathogens (organisms that may cause disease).
- Track changes in the microbial community as spacecraft visit the station and new station modules are added.
All aims of the task have been achieved. Experimental findings were incorporated into the SWAB Flight Experiment Final Report that was delivered to SHFH. Key findings:
- Generally, advanced molecular techniques were able to reveal a few organisms not recovered using culture-based methods; however, there is no indication that current monitoring is “missing” any medically significant bacteria or fungi.
- Molecular techniques have tremendous potential for microbial monitoring, however, sample preparation and data analysis present challenges for spaceflight hardware.
- Analytical results indicate that some molecular techniques, such as denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), can be much less sensitive than culture-based methods.
- More sensitive molecular techniques, such as quantitative polymerase chain reaction (QPCR), were able to identify viral DNA from ISS environments, suggesting potential transfer of the organism between crewmembers.
Category:
Risk Characterization, Quantification
Subcategory:
Evidence or Risk Characterization
Description:
The SWAB Flight Experiment addressed the risk of Adverse Health Effects due to Alterations in Host-Microorganism Interactions by characterizing microorganisms present in the spacecraft environment through analysis using non-culture-based technologies to reveal microorganisms, allergens, & microbial toxins not previously reported in spacecraft, allowing for a more complete health assessment. Preflight & in-flight surface, air, and water samples were collected using methods that allowed for long-term storage as well as the subsequent molecular analyses and provided knowledge used in the development future space vehicle monitoring requirements. This data contributes to Gap AEH 10 closure by providing initial information about microbial diversity. It also contributed to Gap AEH 12 by delivering information to fulfill the gap metric -Determine if spaceflight alters diversity & response characteristics of environmental microbes.
Internal Customers:
Space Human Factors and Habitability
External Customers:
None