SMuK 2021 – scientific programme
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P: Fachverband Plasmaphysik
P 5: Poster I
P 5.13: Poster
Tuesday, August 31, 2021, 14:00–16:00, P
Cold Atmospheric Plasma Sterilization for Planetary Protection — •Alisa Schmidt1, Meike Müller2, Markus H. Thoma1, and Hubertus Thomas2 — 1I. Physikalisches Institut, Justus-Liebig-Universität, Gießen, Germany — 2Institut für Materialphysik im Weltraum, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V., Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany
In the search for extraterrestrial life, decontamination of the surface of spacecraft and lander is of great importance. Since currently used methods - dry heat and hydrogen peroxide - are effective but material damaging for sensitive surfaces, in this contribution the application of cold atmospheric surface micro-discharge (SMD) afterglow plasma sterilization for spacecraft decontamination was investigated. Inactivation tests were performed with Bacillus atrophaeus spores on stainless steel carriers placed at the bottom of stainless steel tubes with varying heigths and diameters. It could be shown, that spore inactivation was achieved inside the tubes but much slower than outside at a treatment time of 60 min. Furthermore, the height of the diffusion barriers did not result in significant differences in inactivation rates but with increasing diameter the sporicidal effect increased respectively. By operating a fan to circulate the gas in the treatment chamber, higher inactivation rates could be achieved at unchanged treatment times. Moreover, it could be demonstrated, that the method of applying spores to the sample carrier influences the inactivation rate of the plasma treatment.