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Procedures for rapid microbiological analysis were performed during simulated surface extra-vehicular activity (EVA) at Meteor Crater, Arizona. The fully suited operator swabbed rock (‘unknown’ sample), spacesuit glove (contamination control) and air (negative control). Each swab sample was analyzed for lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and β-1, 3-glucan within 10 minutes by the handheld LOCAD PTS instrument, scheduled for flight to ISS on space shuttle STS-116. This simulated a rapid and preliminary ‘life detection’ test (with contamination control) that a human could perform on Mars. Eight techniques were also evaluated for their ability to clean and remove LPS and β-1, 3-glucan from five surface materials of the EVA Mobility Unit (EMU). While chemical/mechanical techniques were effective at cleaning smooth surfaces (e.g. RTV silicon), they were less so with porous fabrics (e.g. TMG gauntlet).

The space exploration enterprise that will lead to human exploration on Mars requires pressure suit system capabilities and characteristics that change significantly over time and between different missions and mission phases. These capabilities must be provided within tight budget constraints and severely limited launch mass and volume, and at a pace that supports NASA's over-all exploration timeline. As a result, it has not been obvious whether the use of a single pressure suit system (like Apollo) or combinations of multiple pressure suit designs (like Shuttle) will offer the best balance among life cycle cost, risk, and performance. Because the answer to this question is pivotal for the effective development of pressure suit system technologies that will met NASA's needs, ILC and Hamilton Sundstrand engineers have collaborated in an independent study to identify and evaluate the alternatives.