| Abstract | Space exploration is demanding longer lasting human missions and water resupply from Earth will become increasingly unrealistic. In a near future, the spacecraft water monitoring systems will require technological advances to promptly identify and counteract contingent events of waterborne microbial contamination, posing health risks to astronauts with lowered immune responsiveness. The search for bio-analytical approaches, alternative to those applied on Earth by cultivation-dependent methods, is pushed by the compelling need to limit waste disposal and avoid microbial regrowth from analytical carryovers. Prospective technologies will be selected only if first validated in a flight-like environment, by following basic principles, advantages, and limitations beyond their current applications on Earth. Starting from the water monitoring activities applied on the International Space Station, we provide a critical overview of the nucleic acid amplification-based approaches (i.e., loop-mediated isothermal amplification, quantitative PCR, and high-throughput sequencing) and early-warning methods for total microbial load assessments (i.e., ATP-metry, flow cytometry), already used at a high readiness level aboard crewed space vehicles. Our findings suggest that the forthcoming space applications of mature technologies will be necessarily bounded by a compromise between analytical performances (e.g., speed to results, identification depth, reproducibility, multiparametricity) and detrimental technical requirements (e.g., reagent usage, waste production, operator skills, crew time). As space exploration progresses toward extended missions to Moon and Mars, miniaturized systems that also minimize crew involvement in their end-to-end operation are likely applicable on the long-term and suitable for the in-flight water and microbiological research. |
| Text | 422637 2020 10.1016/j.watres.2020.115787 Scopus 2 s2.0 85083340347 ISI Web of Science WOS WOS 000530241100021 International Space Station Space missions Biomonitoring Water biological contamination Water and microbial monitoring technologies towards the near future space exploration Amalfitano S.; Levantesi C.; Copetti D.; Stefani F.; Locantore I.; Guarnieri V.; Lobascio C.; Bersani F.; Giacosa D.; Detsis E.; Rossetti S. Water Research Institute National Research Council of Italy IRSA CNR , Via Salaria Km 29,300, Monterotondo, Roma, 00015, Water Research Institute National Research Council of Italy IRSA CNR , Via Salaria Km 29,300, 00015, Monterotondo, Roma, Italy, , Italy; Water Research Institute National Research Council of Italy IRSA CNR , Via del Mulino 19, Brugherio, Monza Brianza, 20861, Water Research Institute National Research Council of Italy IRSA CNR , Via del Mulino 19, 20861 Brugherio, Monza Brianza, Italy, , Italy; Thales Alenia Space Italia SpA, Strada Antica di Collegno, Turin, 253 10146, Thales Alenia Space Italia SpA, Strada Antica di Collegno, 253 10146, Turin, Italy, , Italy; Centro Ricerche SMAT, C.so Unita d Italia 235/3, Societa Metropolitana Acque Torino S.p.A., Torino, 10127, Centro Ricerche SMAT, Societa Metropolitana Acque Torino S.p.A., C.so Unita d Italia 235/3, 10127, Torino, Italy, , Italy; European Science Foundation, 1 quai Lezay Marnesia, BP 90015, Strasbourg Cedex, 67080, European Science Foundation, 1 quai Lezay Marnesia, BP 90015, 67080, Strasbourg Cedex, France, , France Space exploration is demanding longer lasting human missions and water resupply from Earth will become increasingly unrealistic. In a near future, the spacecraft water monitoring systems will require technological advances to promptly identify and counteract contingent events of waterborne microbial contamination, posing health risks to astronauts with lowered immune responsiveness. The search for bio analytical approaches, alternative to those applied on Earth by cultivation dependent methods, is pushed by the compelling need to limit waste disposal and avoid microbial regrowth from analytical carryovers. Prospective technologies will be selected only if first validated in a flight like environment, by following basic principles, advantages, and limitations beyond their current applications on Earth. Starting from the water monitoring activities applied on the International Space Station, we provide a critical overview of the nucleic acid amplification based approaches i.e., loop mediated isothermal amplification, quantitative PCR, and high throughput sequencing and early warning methods for total microbial load assessments i.e., ATP metry, flow cytometry , already used at a high readiness level aboard crewed space vehicles. Our findings suggest that the forthcoming space applications of mature technologies will be necessarily bounded by a compromise between analytical performances e.g., speed to results, identification depth, reproducibility, multiparametricity and detrimental technical requirements e.g., reagent usage, waste production, operator skills, crew time . As space exploration progresses toward extended missions to Moon and Mars, miniaturized systems that also minimize crew involvement in their end to end operation are likely applicable on the long term and suitable for the in flight water and microbiological research. 177 Published version https //www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0043135420303249 Water and microbial monitoring technologies towards the near future space exploration Versione pubblicata Amalfitano_2020_WR_Water monitoring in space.pdf Articolo in rivista Pergamon Press. 0043 1354 Water research Oxf. Water research Oxf. Water res. Oxf. Water research. Oxf. simona.rossetti ROSSETTI SIMONA caterina.levantesi LEVANTESI CATERINA diego.copetti COPETTI DIEGO stefano.amalfitano AMALFITANO STEFANO fabrizio.stefani STEFANI FABRIZIO BIOWYSE Biocontamination Integrated cOntrol of Wet sYstems for Space Exploration DTA.AD005.023.001 RISANAMENTO E VALORIZZZAIONE DI ACQUE, ACQUIFERI, SEDIMENTI, SUOLI E RIFIUTI MONTEROTONDO BARI |
