The space stations of the immediate future are going to have to be clean. This is because they will represent the first wave of manned scientific missions to their destinations (which may include the surface of Mars). Therefore, their crews will need to avoid contamination at all costs, so that the samples of extra-terrestrial material remain pristine. This process will preserve their value to researchers and engineers after they are collected.On Earth, the best option to prevent this kind of contamination is a clean-room environment.
We knew that a certain strain of bacteria was able to withstand ultra-hygienic spacecraft assembly facilities but not exactly sure how. A recent report may be able to provide more insight on this issue, which could potentially cripple the extra-terrestrial science of the future.
