Final flight

On 15 March 2023, NASA's CRS-27 mission launched from Florida's Kennedy Space Center, carrying the last set of Biofilms samples to the Space Station, following missions in August 2021 and July 2022.

The results from all three missions will provide comprehensive insights into how well these antimicrobial surfaces perform against biofilm formation.

"Crew health and safety on space missions are crucial, and understanding biofilm formation helps reduce bacterial exposure. These findings will assist in selecting materials for future missions," adds Jutta Krause, ESA’s payload engineer for this research.

"Antimicrobial surfaces, like those in our Biofilms experiment, have applications beyond space and are valuable in homes, industries, hospitals, and food production facilities where preventing biofilms is vital."