{"id":12137,"date":"2021-11-03T22:51:00","date_gmt":"2021-11-03T22:51:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.golighthouse.com\/en\/?post_type=knowledge-center&p=12137"},"modified":"2023-02-07T23:00:09","modified_gmt":"2023-02-07T23:00:09","slug":"3-ways-nasa-uses-cleanrooms-517","status":"publish","type":"knowledge-center","link":"https:\/\/www.golighthouse.com\/en\/blog\/3-ways-nasa-uses-cleanrooms-517\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Ways NASA Uses Cleanrooms"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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When we think of cleanrooms, we usually think of manufacturing, technology, food processing, research, etc. But have you considered how those processes are used by NASA for space exploration?<\/p>

That\u2019s right! NASA uses cleanrooms – and quite often, too! Not only is their equipment highly tuned, so it needs to be manufactured in a clean room, but they have an obligation to keep space clean and study a lot of different space materials.<\/p>

So how exactly does NASA use cleanrooms?<\/p>

<\/a>1.To Evaluate Space Materials<\/h2>

When NASA brings back materials from space – such as the\u00a0Apollo rocks<\/a>\u00a0– they store them in cleanrooms to be studied at a later date. These cleanrooms keep them free from Earth\u2019s contamination, so when we study them, we know what we\u2019re seeing is not from Earth.<\/p>

In 2018<\/a>, an ISO class 6 cleanroom in Houston, Texas, where NASA was storing extraterrestrial rocks, were found to be contaminated with fungi. These rocks were kept in cabinets where nitrogen was being pumped into them at above-atmospheric pressures. The air filter was installed in 1979 and not checked for over 40 years. So when they started looking for fungi, they found a much higher amount near the fan.<\/p>

After this discovery, other NASA researchers began to question their own work. Had their findings actually been extraterrestrial, or was there Earthly interference? It\u2019s impossible to tell now. But what NASA can do is make sure their cleanrooms are well-maintained to avoid future contamination.<\/p>

NASA classifies its missions from Category I to Category V in its\u00a0Planetary Protection<\/a>\u00a0program depending on how high the contamination risk is to Earth. Category I missions pose little contamination risks, but Category V poses an increased risk.<\/p>

The Mars 2020 rover launch was\u00a0considered a Category V mission<\/a>\u00a0because they are collecting samples with the intention to return them. Thus, this mission was held to very high standards in terms of how much the rover is allowed to collect and how it should be handled upon return to Earth.<\/p>

If we truly want to know what\u2019s happening on other planets, NASA\u2019s cleanrooms are the place to do it, so long as they truly stay clean!<\/p>

<\/a>2.To Assemble Spacecrafts<\/h2>

NASA does not just use cleanrooms to conduct research. They also use cleanrooms to assemble and\u00a0build their spacecraft<\/a>!<\/p>

We know that cleanrooms are commonly used to produce technological components, such as semiconductors. So it makes sense that NASA would use cleanrooms to assemble their highly technical and intricate spacecraft – and all the computers inside them.<\/p>

Not only are the instruments onboard a shuttle or satellite sensitive to dust, but they can also\u00a0be hurt by humidity<\/a>. In a cleanroom setting, we can control the humidity, temperature, and particle exposure.<\/p>

But NASA doesn\u2019t just keep their space crafts clean for the sake of the instruments. They keep it clean for space\u2019s sake, too!<\/p>

In 1967, The Outer Space Treaty was signed by the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and the Russian Federation.\u00a0According to the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs<\/a>, the treaty says:<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>