NASA Unveils Plasma Laundry Gun That Kills Microbes
SkimNews Take
While the plasma beam sanitizes clothing, its application to a vacuum cleaner suggests the primary challenge is not just microbe buildup on fabric, but the broader issue of pervasive biological contamination within enclosed space habitats.
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- Gabe Xu and Chelsi Cassilly unveiled a cold‑plasma “laundry gun” that sanitizes fabric by generating oxygen ions that kill microbes via oxidative stress, presented at the Astrobiology Science Conference on 21 May.
- The laundry gun uses a helium‑air‑water vapor mixture ignited by high‑voltage bursts to produce a cool plasma jet that can be safely touched, unlike traditional hot plasma sources.
- Laboratory tests showed the plasma beam cut cotton spore counts from 250 000 ml ml⁻¹ to roughly 60 000 ml ml⁻¹, demonstrating effective microbial reduction without damaging the material.
- Plasma washing machine prototype is being developed to pipe plasma into a chamber with fabrics, addressing the current limitation of treating only sub‑centimetre patches at a time.
- Mars habitats could benefit from this reusable, low‑energy cleaning method, enabling astronauts to maintain clean interiors and furnishings on long‑duration missions.
Why it matters: Astronauts on Moon or Mars habitats will be able to sanitize clothing and surfaces, cutting spore counts by roughly 76% and slashing the need for disposable garments, which reduces launch mass and improves crew comfort on multi‑year missions.
