Technology For Growing Plants In Space Leads To Device That Destroys Pathogens Like Anthrax

Terrorism may seem to have little to do with growing plants, but building miniature greenhouses for the International Space Station has led to the invention of a device that annihilates anthrax — a bacteria that can be deadly when inhaled. Space research often results in products that benefit people on Earth in unexpected ways.

Building miniature greenhouses for experiments on the International Space Station has led to the invention of a device that annihilates anthrax -- a bacteria that can be deadly when inhaled."Space-based greenhouses may seem to have little to do with the war against terrorism," said Mark Nall, director of the Space Product Development Program at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. "Yet this invention shows how commercial space research can benefit people on Earth in unexpected ways."

The anthrax-killing air scrubber, AiroCide Ti02, is a tabletop-size metal box that bolts to office ceilings or walls. Its fans draw in airborne spores and airflow forces them through a maze of tubes. Inside, hydroxyl radicals (OH-) attack and kill pathogens. Most remaining spores are destroyed by high-energy ultraviolet photons.