Observation of possible mold spore attachment, germination and growth on the surface of silica aerogel designed for astrobiology mission

Abstract

Adhesion, germination and hyphae elongation of/from spores of Aspergillus tonophilus on a silica aerogel were observed, to indicate the possibility of mold contamination of the material designed for astrobiology mission using Kibo module in ISS. Spore germination seemed to be encouraged by nose sebum treatment before adhesion. Spore adhesion was observed by electron microscopy, and autofluorescence from mycelia was observed both by conventional microscope and USB-probe type microscope. The use of latter device was indicated to be effective for the monitoring of possible mold contamination of aerogel samples returned to earth in the astrobiology mission.