jsc2023e010175

jsc2023e010175 (2/28/2023) --- This image shows a monospecies biofilm through the view of a scanning electron microscope. The image was colored to visualize the bacterial cells (orange) embedded in the biofilm matrix (blue). The biofilm was formed by a strain of the bacterial species Staphylococcus capitis that was isolated from the International Space Station. The ESA-Biofilms investigation studies bacterial biofilm formation and antimicrobial properties of different metal surfaces under spaceflight conditions in altered gravity. The image was taken as part of the preflight experiments for ESA-Biofilms together with the Robert Koch Institute in Berlin, Germany. Image courtesy of DLR, CC BY-NC-ND 3.0.