Materials for antimicrobial/antifungal surface treatment in confined inhabited environment in human spaceflight

Design of materials suitable for application in antifungal / antimicrobial surface treatment in confined inhabited environment of manned spacecraft / habitat. These materials shall be non-toxic, display long-term stability and warrant no release of harmful substances.

Confined inhabited environment in human spaceflight imposes challenges on the sanitary aspects or future infrastructure for the human space exploration of Moon or Mars. Within confined inhabited environment the micro-climate cannot be fully controlled due to gradients in air flow and temperature. This leads to local microclimates which can lead to promotion of fungal or microbial growth. In addition, the problems connected with development of microbial / fungal resistance against the known agents (e. g. heavy metals) needs to be addressed. At the same time human spaceflight imposes constraints of low toxicity and limitation of release of e. g. heavy metals to the inhabited environment. The use of classical disinfection methods is limited under confined environment and an ideal solution is to add the antimicrobial / antifungal functionality to the existing surfaces.