The European Space Agency (ESA) is attempting to develop a spacesuit lining that would both prevent microbial growth within astronaut spacesuits and enable the spacesuits to be worn for longer periods of time between washings.

Under the ESA’s Planetary Exploration Textiles (PExTex) project, the researchers employed a technique dubbed Biocidal Advanced Coating Technology for Reducing Microbial Activity (BACTeRMA) to try to protect the inner linings of spacesuits.

Source: ESA

According to researchers from the ESA, BACTeRMA uses chemical compounds called secondary metabolites with antibiotic properties that enable them to protect themselves against other harmful bacteria.

In collaboration with the Vienna Textile Lab, the BACTeRMA team used data from the lab’s "unique bacteriographic collection" to manufacture biocidal textile processing approaches such as dyeing cloth with bacterial metabolites.

These materials, according to the developers, were tested for durability and thus subjected to radiation, moondust and simulated human sweat.

The insights obtained from such testing are expected to eventually lead to the design and manufacture of future spacesuits that can be worn by astronauts for longer durations without washing.