The effect of temperature on the survival of microorganisms in a deep space vacuum

Hagen, C. A.; Godfrey, James; Green, R. H.

doi:10.1007/bf00927985

Cited by 10 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Effects of other parameters on microbial survival in the literature were temporarily ignored. Data for vacuum effects on B. subtilis were derived from the studies of Bücker et al (1974), Dose and Klein (1996), Hagen et al (1971), Horneck et al (1984Horneck et al ( , 1994Horneck et al ( , 1995, Koike and Oshima (1993), Lorenz et al (1968), and Morelli et al (1962) (Lucas et al, 1966(Lucas et al, , 1967a(Lucas et al, , 1967b) and on surface equipment of deployed Apollo payloads (Langseth et al, 1972) demonstrate that the temperatures of spacecraft external surfaces on the Moon can reach daytime highs between 100°C and 140°C. Temperatures in excess of 50°C can begin to impact the survival of most terrestrial microorganisms.…”

Section: Definition Of ''Lethal Dose''mentioning

confidence: 99%

A Lunar Microbial Survival Model for Predicting the Forward Contamination of the Moon

Schuerger

Moores²,

Smith

et al. 2019

Astrobiology

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The surface conditions on the Moon are extremely harsh with high doses of ultraviolet (UV) irradiation (26.8 W $ m-2 UVC/UVB), wide temperature extremes (-171°C to 140°C), low pressure (10-10 Pa), and high levels of ionizing radiation. External spacecraft surfaces on the Moon are generally >100°C during daylight hours and can reach as high as 140°C at local noon. A Lunar Microbial Survival (LMS) model was developed that estimated (1) the total viable bioburden of all spacecraft landed on the Moon as *4.57 • 10 10 microbial cells/ spores at contact, (2) the inactivation kinetics of Bacillus subtilis spores to vacuum as approaching-2 logs per 2107 days, (3) the inactivation of spores on external surfaces due to concomitant low-pressure and hightemperature conditions as-6 logs per 8 h for local noon conditions, and (4) the ionizing radiation by solar wind particles as approaching-3 logs per lunation on external surfaces only. When the biocidal factors of solar UV, vacuum, high-temperature, and ionizing radiation were combined into an integrated LMS model, a theoretical-2479 log reduction in viable bioburden was predicted for external spacecraft surfaces per lunation at the equator. Results indicate that external surfaces of landed or crashed spacecraft are unlikely to harbor viable spores after only one lunation, that shallow internal surfaces will be sterilized due to the interactive effects of vacuum and thermal cycling from solar irradiation, and that deep internal surfaces would be affected only by vacuum with a degradation rate of-0.02 logs per lunation.

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Section: Definition Of ''Lethal Dose''mentioning

confidence: 99%

A Lunar Microbial Survival Model for Predicting the Forward Contamination of the Moon

Schuerger

Moores²,

Smith

et al. 2019

Astrobiology

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“…However, the rate of survival to solar radiation in a vacuum was ten fold less than at 1 bar (Lindberg and Horneck, 1991). Others (Morelli et al, 1962;Hagen et al, 1971) have also reported on the survivability of bacterial spores under high vacuum. Studies by Silverman et al (1964) have shown that ultra high vacuum (10 À 5 -10 À 12 bar) protected spores of Bacillus stearothermophilus, Bacillus megaterium, Clostridium sporogenes, and Aspergillus niger to prolonged exposure to temperatures near 90 1C, but not at 60 1C.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…With respect to non-spore-forming vegetative cells, there is less reported. Hagen et al (1971) have shown that Staphylococcus epidermidis and Micrococcus sp. numbers were reduced by 1 log at À105 and 34 1C, and 2 logs at 59 1C for 14 days in a simulated vacuum of space (10 À 13 bar).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Low pressure and desiccation effects on methanogens: Implications for life on Mars

Kral

Altheide

Lueders

et al. 2011

Planetary and Space Science

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“…In addition, microbial species during martian simulations have been placed on agar surfaces (Imshenetsky et al, 1973), in crushed sandstone (Fulton, 1960;Roberts and Wayne, 1962), in limonite , on glass (Imshenetsky et al, 1967) or stainless steel planchets, and on aluminum coupons (Hagen et al, 1971;Koike et al, 1996;Mancinelli and Klovstad, 2000;Schuerger et al, 2003;Schuerger and Kern, 2004). Although these studies examined different questions concerning microbial survival under simulated martian conditions, a few general conclusions may be drawn from this body of work.…”

Section: Introduction Mmentioning

confidence: 99%

Surface Characteristics of Spacecraft Components Affect the Aggregation of Microorganisms and May Lead to Different Survival Rates of Bacteria on Mars Landers

et al. 2005

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Layers of dormant endospores of Bacillus subtilis HA101 were applied to eight different spacecraft materials and exposed to martian conditions of low pressure (8.5 mbar), low temperature (؊10°C), and high CO 2 gas composition and irradiated with a Mars-normal ultraviolet (UV-visible-near-infrared spectrum. Bacterial layers were exposed to either 1 min or 1 h of Mars-normal UV irradiation, which simulated clear-sky conditions on equatorial Mars (0.1 tau). When exposed to 1 min of Mars UV irradiation, the numbers of viable endospores of B. subtilis were reduced three to four orders of magnitude for two brands of aluminum (Al), stainless steel, chemfilm-treated Al, clear-anodized Al, and black-anodized Al coupons. In contrast, bacterial survival was reduced only one to two orders of magnitude for endospores on the non-metal materials astroquartz and graphite composite when bacterial endospores were exposed to 1 min of Mars UV irradiation. When bacterial monolayers were exposed to 1 h of Mars UV irradiation, no viable bacteria were recovered from the six metal coupons listed above. In contrast, bacterial survival was reduced only two to three orders of magnitude for spore layers on astroquartz and graphite composite exposed to 1 h of Mars UV irradiation. Scanning electron microscopy images of the bacterial monolayers on all eight spacecraft materials revealed that endospores of B. subtilis formed large aggregates of multilayered spores on astroquartz and graphite composite, but not on the other six spacecraft materials. It is likely that the formation of multilayered aggregates of endospores on astroquartz and graphite composite is responsible for the enhanced survival of bacterial cells on these materials.

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The effect of temperature on the survival of microorganisms in a deep space vacuum

Cited by 10 publications

References 6 publications

A Lunar Microbial Survival Model for Predicting the Forward Contamination of the Moon

A Lunar Microbial Survival Model for Predicting the Forward Contamination of the Moon

Low pressure and desiccation effects on methanogens: Implications for life on Mars

Surface Characteristics of Spacecraft Components Affect the Aggregation of Microorganisms and May Lead to Different Survival Rates of Bacteria on Mars Landers

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