TO ACHIEVE MANY OF THE GOALS OF NASA S AND ESA S SPACE PROGRAMS REQUIRES AN ENDURING HUMAN PRESENCE IN SPACE. LONG TERM HUMAN MISSIONS REQUIRE SUSTAINED CREW HEALTH AND SAFETY. A RESEARCH AREA THAT IS IMPORTANT IN SUSTAINING CREW HEALTH IS THE DEVELOPMENT OF IMPROVED SPACEFLIGHT-SUITABLE METHODS FOR MICROBIOLOGICAL MONITORING AS WELL AS CONTAMINATION CONTROL AND REDUCTION. THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION (ISS) IS A CONFINED AND ISOLATED HABITAT IN AN EXTREME HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT. THE HUMAN AND HABITAT MICROFLORA VARIES IN RESPONSE TO CHANGES IN ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS ABOARD THE ISS. CHANGES IN THE MICROFLORA MAY RESULT IN AN INCREASED HEALTH RISK FOR THE CREW. MICROORGANISMS INCLUDING MICROBIAL BIOFILMS HAVE BEEN FOUND ON VARIOUS HABITAT SURFACES INSIDE THE AIR AND WATER HANDLING SYSTEMS AS WELL AS THE HARDWARE USED ON THE ISS. BIOFILMS ARE KNOWN TO CAUSE DAMAGE TO EQUIPMENT FROM POLYMER DETERIORATION METAL CORROSION AND BIO-FOULING. THE PRIMARY CONCERN REGARDING CREW HEALTH IS CHARACTERIZED BY ACTIVITY OF OPPORTUNISTIC PATHOGENIC MICROORGANISMS THAT HAVE BEEN NOTED TO ACCUMULATE IN THE CLOSED ENVIRONMENTS OF THE ISS AND OTHER SPACECRAFT ON LONG-DURATION MISSIONS. UNDERSTANDING THE EFFECTS OF THE SPACE ENVIRONMENT ESPECIALLY ALTERED GRAVITY ON MICROBIAL BIOFILMS IS CRUCIAL FOR THE SUCCESS OF LONG-TERM HUMAN SPACE MISSIONS. SURFACE-ASSOCIATED BIOFILM COMMUNITIES WERE ABUNDANT ON THE MIR SPACE STATION AND CONTINUE TO BE A CHALLENGE ON THE ISS. THE HEALTH AND SAFETY HAZARDS LINKED TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF BIOFILMS ARE OF PARTICULAR CONCERN DUE TO THE SUPPRESSION OF HUMAN IMMUNE FUNCTION OBSERVED DURING SPACEFLIGHT. VARIOUS STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT CERTAIN METALS REDUCE THE NUMBER OF CONTACT-MEDIATED MICROBIAL INFECTIONS. ANTIMICROBIAL SURFACES ARE DEFINED AS MATERIALS THAT CONTAIN AN ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT SUCH AS SILVER COPPER AND THEIR ALLOYS THAT INHIBITS OR REDUCES THE ABILITY OF MICROORGANISMS TO GROW ON THE SURFACE OF A MATERIAL. ANTIMICROBIAL SURFACES ARE FUNCTIONALIZED IN A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT PROCESSES. THE INTRODUCTION OF ANTIMICROBIAL SURFACES FOR MEDICAL PHARMACEUTICAL AND INDUSTRIAL PURPOSES HAS SHOWN THEIR UNIQUE POTENTIAL FOR REDUCING AND PREVENTING MICROBIAL CONTAMINATION. THE CONTACT KILLING OF SEVERAL TYPES OF MICROORGANISMS BY COPPER HAS BEEN ASSESSED IN MULTIPLE LABORATORY INVITRO STUDIES. FOR SUSTAINED CREW HEALTH AND SAFETY ADDITIONAL STUDIES ON THE MECHANISMS INVOLVED IN THE FORMATION OF MICROBIAL BIOFILMS AND THEIR EFFICIENT DESTRUCTION UNDER SPACEFLIGHT CONDITIONS I.E. LONG-TERM GROWTH AND ADAPTATION TO LOW GRAVITY ENVIRONMENTS ARE NEEDED. THE HYPOTHESIS TO BE TESTED BY METALLICA IS THAT SURFACES CONTAINING COPPER AND/OR SILVER WILL INHIBIT BIOFILM FORMATION UNDER ALTERED GRAVITY REGIMES TO A LESSER EXTENT THAN IN 1 X G DUE TO THE FACT THAT THE INTERACTION WITH THE METAL IONS ON THE SURFACE IS SLOWER BECAUSE THEIR MOVEMENT AROUND THE CELL IS RESTRICTED TO DIFFUSION. THE OBJECTIVE IS TO DETERMINE THE EFFECT AND THE RATE IF ANY OF COPPER AND/OR SILVER SURFACES ON MICROBIAL GROWTH RATE TOTAL BIOMASS ACCUMULATION AND BIOFILM FORMATION. THE GOAL IS TO DEVELOP A CONCEPTUAL MODEL DESCRIBING THE AFFECT OF MICRO-GRAVITY ON BIOFILM FORMATION GROWN ON NON-INHIBITING SURFACES AS WELL AS ON METAL SURFACES THAT ARE POTENTIAL BIOFILM GROWTH INHIBITORS. THE APPROACH WILL BE TO TEST THREE DIFFERENT MICROBIAL MODEL SYSTEMS (I.E. ESCHERICHIA COLI K12 A STAPHYLOCOCCUS SP. ISOLATE FROM THE ISS AND THE HEAVY METAL RESISTANT STRAIN CUPRIAVIDUS METALLIDURANS CH34) FOR BIOFILM FORMATION ON VARIOUS COPPER- AND SILVER-SURFACES AS WELL AS INERT SURFACES AS CONTROLS. THESE SURFACES DIFFER IN THEIR ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY BASED ON CHEMICAL COMPOSITION AND/OR GEOMETRIC NANOSTRUCTURES. THESE SURFACES WILL BE TESTED FOR BIOFILM FORMATION RATES UNDER DIFFERENT SPACEFLIGHT RELEVANT GRAVITATIONAL REGIMES (E.G. MOON 0.16 X G MARS 0.38 X G G ISS AND 1 X G CONTROL). MICROBIAL GROWTH WILL OCCUR UNDER OPTIMAL BIOFILM-INDUCING CON