![]() NASA is soliciting an automated system yielding a sequence-ready sample. The current sequencing-based method is manual, involves substantial crew time, and involves numerous consumables and piece parts. Moreover, these updated requirements are in place for future programs, and this current manual sequencing-based method has been baselined for Gateway. Following validation in subsequent payload experiments, this analysis method was transitioned to medical operations hardware and is currently being evaluated by Crew Health Care Systems to replace culture-based monitoring methods that require sample return the current NASA microbial monitoring requirements have evolved to allow for the inclusion of this technology. Following this demonstration, miniPCR (polymerase chain reaction), a small thermal cycler, was paired with the MinION, and a complete sample-to-answer method was validated. Sequencing was first demonstrated onboard the ISS in 2016 using Oxford Nanopore Technologies MinION. ![]() Significant strides toward in situ microbial monitoring have been made through the implementation of nanopore sequencing onboard the ISS. As such, a near real-time monitoring system capable of in situ analysis is absolutely critical. Moreover, sample return will not be possible on exploration missions. While this method has served the International Space Station (ISS) well, it results in a bias towards the detection of culturable organisms, an inherent delay between sample collection and ground-based analysis, and an increase in the number of potential pathogens on the spacecraft. This data is used to assess risk to the vehicle and crew health, as well as to evaluate the effectiveness of the engineering controls in place and define any required remediation activities. To date, this monitoring has relied on culture-based analysis in which the samples must be returned to Earth for identification. Microbial monitoring of the spaceflight environment, including surfaces, water, and air, is required by the medical operations community and enables crew health risk assessments. Microbial Monitoring of Spacecraft Environments: Automated Sample Preparation for Sequencing-Based Monitoring
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