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Drinking water aboard spacecraft and on earth must be monitored to ensure that harmful bacteria are absent. NASA needs rapid methods for this purpose, to avoid possible launch delays and limit potential water-related health risks aboard spacecraft on orbit. Determination of bacterial viability after exposure to disinfection has significant health importance since oxidatively injured pathogenic bacteria have been shown to retain their virulence. This problem is compounded by the observation that injured bacteria are recovered at significantly lower frequencies using standard agar plate assays, leading to an underestimation of infection risks. Escherichia coli O157:H7 was exposed to 0.5 ppm free chlorine, retained on membrane filters and tested for physiological activity using a variety of assays.

A flex hose assembly containing aqueous coolant from the International Space Station (ISS) Internal Active Thermal Control System (IATCS) consisting of a 2 foot section of Teflon hose and quick disconnects (QDs) and a Special Performance Checkout Unit (SPCU) heat exchanger containing separate channels of IATCS coolant and iodinated water used to cool spacesuits and Extravehicular Mobility Units (EMUs) were returned for destructive analyses on Shuttle return to flight mission STS-114. The original aqueous IATCS coolant used in Node 1, the Laboratory Module, and the Airlock consisted of water, borate (pH buffer), phosphate (corrosion control), and silver sulfate (microbiological control) at a pH of 9.5 ± 0.5.