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Evaluation of Various Cleaning Methods to Remove Bacillus Spores from Spacecraft Hardware MaterialsA detailed study was made of the biological cleaning effectiveness, defined in terms of the ability to remove bacterial spores, of a number of methods used to clean hardware surfaces. Aluminum (Al 6061) and titanium (Ti 6Al-4V) were chosen for the study as they were deemed the two materials most likely to be used in spacecraft extraterrestrial sampler construction. None of the cleaning protocols tested completely removed viable spores from the surface of the aluminum. In contrast, titanium was capable of being cleaned to sterility by two methods, the JPL standard and the commercial SAMS cleaning process. Further investigation showed that the passivation step employed in the JPL standard method is an effective surface sterilant on both metals but not compatible with aluminum. It is recommended that titanium (Ti 6Al-4V) be considered superior to aluminum (Al 6061) for use in spacecraft sampling hardware, both for its potential to be cleaned to sterilization and for its ability to withstand the most effective cleaning protocols.
Document ID
20080025038
Acquisition Source
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Document Type
Preprint (Draft being sent to journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
Venkateswaran, Kasthuri
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Chung, Shirley
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Allton, Judith
(NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)
Kern, Roger
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 24, 2013
Publication Date
September 29, 2004
Publication Information
Publication: Astrobiology
Volume: 4
Issue: 3
Subject Category
Space Transportation And Safety
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other
Keywords
planetary protection
disinfection
cleaning
spacecraft materials

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