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http://marstech.jpl.nasa.gov/content/detai...at=&TaskID=2286

We are studying spore migration from the JPL Spacecraft Assembly Facility to spacecraft, and adhesion properties of spores and spore-containing dust particles to spacecraft surfaces. Study results allow assessment of contamination probabilities and enable generation of recommended implementation approaches for bio-cleanliness and containment.

The objective of the research is to investigate the physical and chemical processes of the adhesion properties of spores and spore-associated dust particles on common spacecraft materials. The spore-material surface adhesion-force measurements generated by this study provide experimental bases for use by the contaminant transport models for forward planetary protection for MEP missions. Furthermore, this task may lead to the development of new planetary protection technologies with more-efficient cleaning and evaluation methods.