Cold Plasma Cleaning and Disinfection of Produce and Surfaces, Year 2

Currently there is no on-station capability for disinfecting pick and eat crops, food utensils and production areas, or medical devices. This deficit is extended to projected long duration missions. Small, portable, cold plasma devices would provide an enhanced benefit to crew health and address issues concerning microbial cross contamination. Cold plasma (CP) cleaning is a dry, non-thermal process, which can provide broad spectrum antimicrobial activity yet causes little to no damage to the object being sanitized. Since CP uses no liquids, it has the distinct advantage when used in microgravity of not having to separate liquids from the item being cleaned. This project will develop a CP process and evaluate its ability to disinfect/sanitize crops and medical instruments.