Outer Space and the Quest for Cleanliness

An investigative team including ESD’s Yvette Piceno and Gary Andersen analyzed the breadth of bacteria recovered from clean spacecraft surfaces. Their findings lead to the conclusion that it is time to update the methods used to determine the cleanliness of very-low-biomass surfaces.

Detection and Recovery of Targeted Bacteria

ESD’s Romy Chakraborty and her team of investigators recently used immunomagnetic separation to quickly and efficiently isolate Desulfovibrio vulgaris and related sulfate-reducing bacteria at DOE contaminated sites.