Microbiology of Extreme and Human-Made Confined Environments (Spacecraft, Space Stations, Cleanrooms, and Analogous Sites)

In this Research Topic, we invite submissions pertaining to the microbiology of both extreme and man-made confined environments, such as spacecraft, space stations, cleanrooms and other analogous environments.

Cleanrooms and associated environments are routinely used in the aerospace, pharmaceutical, medical, semiconductor, and military industries for the purposes of controlling particulate, organic, and biological contamination. For aerospace, cleanroom usage during spacecraft assembly is required by NASA, ESA and other space agency policies for planetary protection purposes, while the use of confined environments (or enclosed habitats) is an absolute necessity for the human-based exploration of space. Further, for the medical and pharmaceutical industries, these environments respectively provide protection for patients in clinical settings and promote safe manufacturing practices.

Despite the controlled nature of these environments, cleanrooms, spacecraft, confined clinical spaces and enclosed habitats all harbor a low-abundance but active, dynamic, and diverse microbiome. Therefore, in this Research Topic, we aim to highlight current work focusing on taxonomic distribution, taxonomic changes, survival mechanisms, and pathogenicity of the microbiomes found within these facilities, including the associated cleaning and sterilization protocols.

Topics of interest include:

- molecular genetics,
- cultivation studies,
- molecular microbiology,
- biochemistry and metabolism,
- temporal taxonomic changes,
- impacts of and on humans,
- impacts of new cleaning and sterilization technologies,
- reviews of the subject material.