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The effects of volume-reduction via compaction (VR-C) on microbial loads and microbially-produced noxious odors during post-treatment storage were investigated. The Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) / Orion simulated food trash compartment wastes (FTCW) consisted of 80% food trash with packaging and 20% wipes. Compaction was compared with a non-compacted control and will provide a baseline for comparison with other treatment technologies. The first study was a timecourse with post-treatment storage durations of 1, 2, 4, and 6 weeks. Key response variables were: O2 consumption and CO2 production from waste biodegradation and microbiological assays consisting of total counts and culturable counts of (a) aerobic and anaerobic bacteria, (b) aerobic and anaerobic spore-forming bacteria, (c) specific bacteria including Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Burkholderia cepacia, and Staphylococcus aureus counts, and (d) molds at run termination.

The objectives of these experiments were two fold: 1) to determine if accepted tissue fixation procedures can be adapted for long-term storage on-board the International Space Station (ISS) and 2) to test whether they are suitable for KSC Fixation Tubes (KFTs). Three tissue fixation parameters were tested: time, temperature and sample size.Fixation time:samples are normally fixed from several minutes to several hours, but because of the duration of the UF-1 mission to ISS, the tissue will be in fixative for up to 3 months. Super dwarf wheat tissue samples were fixed in either FAA (a fixative normally used for storage of plant tissues) or a glutaraldehyde-based fixative and stored for 100 days.