ISS
Astronauts aboard ISS tests antimicrobial surface coating designed to fight the spread of bacteria and viruses. Credit: Roscosmos/Nasa.

International Space Station (ISS) crew members are testing an antimicrobial surface coating jointly developed by Boeing and Australia’s University of Queensland (UQ).

The coating has been developed to help curb the spread of interplanetary transmission of bacteria and viruses, including the Earth-bound SARS-CoV-2 virus.

During the ISS experiments, two identical sets of objects with and without the virus-fighting surface coating are being tested.

The objects include an aeroplane seat buckle, fabric from aircraft seats and seatbelts, as well as parts of an armrest and a tray table.

The crew at the ISS touch both sets of objects every few days to transfer microbes naturally occurring on human skin. The experiments are not using any microbe samples.

The test objects will return to Earth later this year where Boeing’s labs will analyse the effectiveness of the surface coating in a space environment.

Last year, the joint research project tested the coating aboard Boeing’s ecoDemonstrator as part of the company’s Confident Travel Initiative.

UQ Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology professor Michael Monteiro said: “After years of development, it is truly exciting to see our research in space.

“The primary purpose of our antimicrobial coating was to help protect space missions. After the current pandemic struck, we modified the coating’s formula to also target the Covid-19 virus if it is present on a surface on Earth.

“We look forward to continuing our testing regimen and working to gain regulatory approvals.”