Nature Research and the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
will be convening a new conference designed to guide NASA’s approach to
interaction with and control of the Microbiome of the Built Environment
(MoBE) of future spacecraft including transports, habitats, landers,
rovers and spacesuits.
Taking place at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston in the summer of
2019, this three-day event will help to shape NASA’s microbiological
research goals. Information for people interested in participating will
be provided soon.
Microorganisms are everywhere, including built environments like
spacecraft, and can affect crew health and the integrity of their
spacecraft. This conference will help NASA understand the abundance,
type, and characteristics of the varieties of microbes found in
spacecraft to mitigate problems that could occur during space
exploration and capitalise on opportunities to control the spacecraft
microbiome for the benefit of long-term space exploration.
Nature Research and NASA will bring together scientific, medical, and
engineering experts for presentations and panel discussions about the
type of microbiological research that should be undertaken to enable and
enhance spaceflight operations. Findings from this event will be made
available to the public later that year.
The conference steering committee includes NASA scientists Dr. Mark Ott,
Dr. David Tomko, Dr. Anthony Hickey, Dr. Ruth Siboni, and Dr. Kasthuri
Venkatswaran, Nature Microbiology Chief Editor Dr. Andrew Jermy, NPJ
Executive Editor Dr. Rebecca Kirk and Dr. Cheryl Nickerson, who is both a
leading spaceflight scientist and Editor-in-Chief of Nature Research
journal,
NPJ Microgravity.
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