EXPERIENCE OF USING RESEARCH EQUIPMENT «BAR» TO MONITOR THE ISS CLIMATIC FACTORS IN THE INTEREST OF CONTROLLING MODULES HERMETICITY

Abstract

The authors present 4-component research equipment BAR and results of monitoring the internal climatic factors in the ISS Russian segment, i.e. temperature, humidity and airstreams, and images of corroded shell sections. The authors dwell on the presence of microbial contaminants and associated climatic parameters, and further developments in the transfer module since 2020 when shell defects were detected. It was concluded that corrosion and bacterial and fungal colonies could have emerged as in the zones of conceivable moisture condensation with surface temperatures below the dew point, so, unpredictably, in zones with higher temperatures. It is imperative to proceed dynamic monitoring of corroded zones and check for possible leakage of window sealants.