“One of the more similar environments to the ISS was in the isolation dorms on the UCSD campus during the COVID-19 pandemic. All surfaces were continuously sterilized, so that microbial signatures would be erased by the time another person would show up,” Benitez said. So, one of the first solutions to the ISS microbial diversity problem he and his colleagues suggested was that they perhaps should ease up on sterilizing the station so much.
“The extensive use of disinfection chemicals might not be the best approach to maintaining a healthy microbial environment, although there is certainly plenty of research to be conducted,” Benitez said.
Space-faring gardens
He suggested that
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