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Microbial Surveillance of Potable Water Sources of the International Space StationTo mitigate risk to the crew, the microbial surveillance of the quality of potable water sources of the International Space Station (ISS) has been ongoing since before the arrival of the first permanent crew. These water sources have included stored ground-supplied water, water produced by the shuttle fuel cells during flight, and ISS humidity condensate that is reclaimed and processed. Monitoring was accomplished using a self-contained filter designed to allow bacterial growth and enumeration during flight. Upon return to earth, microbial isolates were identified using 16S ribosomal gene sequencing. While the predominant isolates were common Gramnegative bacteria including Ralstonia eutropha, Methylobacterium fujisawaense, and Spingomonas paucimobilis, opportunistic pathogens such as Stenotrophomonas maltophilia and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were also isolated. Results of in-flight enumeration have indicated a fluctuation of bacterial counts above system design specifications. Additional in-flight monitoring capability for the specific detection of coliforms was added in 2004; no coliforms have been detected from any potable water source. Neither the bacterial concentrations nor the identification of the isolates recovered from these samples has suggested a threat to crew health.
Document ID
20060010412
Acquisition Source
Johnson Space Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Bruce, Rebekah J.
(Enterprise Advisory Services, Inc. Houston, TX, United States)
Ott, C. Mark
(Enterprise Advisory Services, Inc. Houston, TX, United States)
Skuratov, Vladimir M.
(Institute of Biomedical Problems Moscow, Russian Federation)
Pierson, Duane L.
(NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)
Date Acquired
August 23, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2005
Subject Category
Aerospace Medicine
Meeting Information
Meeting: Environmental Systems and European Symposium
Location: Rome
Country: Italy
Start Date: July 11, 2005
End Date: July 14, 2005
Sponsors: Society of Automotive Engineers, Inc.
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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