Back to the Moon Country Portrait - Living India
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Trends and impulses for the world of cleanroom technologies
02 | 2019
Back
to the Moon
WE’RE HERE TO STAY
Country Portrait − Dream Job: Award Winners:
India: Planetary Protection Future Award and
Riding the Tiger Expert Creative Prize
EDITORIAL
Dear Readers,
There has been an advanced training called “Professional Cleanroom Manage-
ment” at our Cleanroom Future Campus in the Swiss town of Wangen recently. I
received a markedly positive feedback from the participants, also concerning the
quality of this magazine. I was asked what we were actually aiming at with it. I can
answer this precisely. The magazine is one of the three columns that make up “Clean-
room Future”. The other two are our network of the same name and the campus. All
three columns are there to provide an added value. The magazine allows a diversified
insight into this many-sided, exciting, innovative and – people who do not work in
this area are often not aware of this – extremely important industry. For many prod-
ucts we ensure the basis. Without us, there would be no aspirin, no artificial hips, no
smartphones. The magazine is supposed to build a bridge between GMP and ISO and
Frank Duvernell to show in how many cross-sectional industries cleanroom technology is applied.
Publisher And what it means to produce under controlled conditions. For users, suppliers and
Founder of Cleanroom Future
employees.
In short: We all can be proud of what is researched, developed and produced in
clean rooms. Since brilliant minds are behind this.
By the way, they can also be found in a start-up that wants to “take the vacuum
cleaner to the cleanroom”: Read more about this from on. Brilliant minds are also
in the focus of the article “From an objective point of view …” which gets to the bot-
tom of the production of objective lenses. I would also like to recommend the inter-
view with the planetary protection expert Dr. Petra Rettberg in our cover story.
A dream job! Which roles do cleanrooms play there? Do read yourself from on.
The next relevant trade fair offers an exciting view to the “clean topics” as well as
valuable networking – from the pharmaceutical industry over medical technology to
microtechnology. Cleanzone has recognized the latest driving topics of the industry
and included them in its conference programme.
A success story of networking which started there in 2018 was that the two compa-
nies KEK and MED-EL won an award each. The Cleanroom Future Award, the oldest
award of the industry, and the Creative Prize who appreciates creatively designed
cleanrooms were awarded during the Cleanzone.
We wanted to know how the two companies are doing today and which effects the
prizes had on them. We are reporting about the visit of our editors at the stain-
less-steel millers in Dresden (KEK) and in the most beautiful cleanroom of the
world in Innsbruck (MED-EL) from page 50.
Do you have some innovative ideas, too? Submit your application under all cir-
cumstances – for both awards. Even if your idea is still in the project phase, the jury
is curious!
Enjoy reading this issue.
Yours, Frank Duvernell
CLEANROOM FUTURE 2 | 19 3
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INNOVATION & FUTURE HUMANS & CLEANROOMS LEARN FROM OTHERS
24 Country Portrait – India 46 Quality Cleanroom Forum
PHOTO: NASA
PHOTO: ZVG
“Riding the Tiger” What are you doing? What are we doing?
The sixth-largest economy in the world is on its And if so, how?
way to becoming an economic superpower. Under
the re-elected Prime Minister Modi, the subcon- 50 Editorial visit to a Creative
tinent is rapidly developing industrial clusters in
high-tech branches with cleanroom requirements. Prize winner
The government campaign “Make in India” is pro- KEK: How a simple folding workbench for service
moting the modernisation of the state-controlled technicians became an innovation and winner of
economy. Even German trade fairs are opening in the Cleanroom Future Award
India.
26 India in Figures – the Subcontinent of
54 Our editorial team visit the
Superlatives winners of the Creative Prize
27 4 Tips for Dealing with Indian Business MED-EL: High Tech for the Ears and Colour for
Partners the Soul
Purvi Shah-Paulini hat einen «Pocket-Guide
Indien» mitverfasst und gibt wertvolle interkul-
turelle Hinweise. SERVICE
28 One Country – Two Worlds
31 Cleanroom Technology 03 Editorial
PHOTO: ISTOCKPHOTO
06 News 1: Machine Learning, Cleanroom Dia-
in Art monds, Caribbean Pharmaceuticals, Intuitive AI
The only history-free space in the world 34 News 2: Containment, Increased Consump-
How do artists view the concept of the “cleanroom”? tion of Pharmaceuticals – Worldwide and in View,
As a place that’s free from both particles and emo- Digitisation + SMEs
08 Cover Story tion. Back in 2005, an art project was created in a 59 Trade Fairs and Events
Leipzig gazebo that had been treated and certified 60 Imprint
Back to the Moon according to EN ISO 14644. A parallel project has
been held in Switzerland since 2018 in the form of a
The New Run to the
second little house, the “KlHaus”.
COLUMNS
36 A Dusty Start-Up
Earth’s Satellite Bringing the vacuum cleaner into cleanroom
A start-up has set itself the task of collecting hazar-
22 James Bond – The Gadget Visionary:
Which of his technological highlights actually
exist?
After several relatively calm decades, the exploration and planned utili- dous dust at its source, installing filter systems in Part 2: Cars Driven by Keys
sation of the moon is now entering a new phase. People will be able cleanrooms and ensuring containment during filter 49 Cleanroom Tips, Cleanroom Questions
to stay on the moon for longer periods in the future. Which nations are changes. We interview the young founders about Get the answers you really need:
involved and what are their goals? their motivations and solutions. Make a successful start to your new job with these
39 Glossary 12 questions
12 Historical Overview: Race to Space 41 9 Facts About Dust
15 Life in Extremes: Is life theoretically possible on other
celestial bodies? 42 Optics
15 Professional Planetary Protector: Who or what does she
From an objective point of view: High-tech
protect?
light collectors
And what role do cleanrooms play?
Optical systems are used in almost every area of
An interview with the planetary protection expert Dr Petra Rettberg
modern life. But what makes a good lens? How is it
21 Quick Moon Facts
made and what role does the cleanroom play?
45 Gems and Plastic Lenses You need only one
click to create your
account to the future.
Register now!
cleanroomfuture.com
4 CLEANROOM FUTURE 2 | 19 CLEANROOM FUTURE 2 | 19 5
NEWS > MACHINE LEARNING, DIAMONDS FROM THE CLEANROOM, PHARMACEUTICALS IN THE CARIBBEAN, INTUITIVE KI NEWS > MACHINE LEARNING, DIAMONDS FROM THE CLEANROOM, PHARMACEUTICALS IN THE CARIBBEAN, INTUITIVE KI
Machine Learning
PHOTO: ISTOCKPHOTO
PHOTO: FRAUNHOFER IWU
Mathematical model
helps in the develop-
ment of vaccines From the Caribbean
to the USA
The Paul Ehrlich Institute (PEI), the Federal Insti-
tute for Vaccines and Biomedicines in the German Pharmaceutical and
town of Langen, has been collaborating with other
researchers to develop a mathematical model that
laboratory supplier
can be used to make more precise predictions and
improve yields in biotechnological protein synthe-
invests in Puerto Rico
sis in host organisms. This new process opens up a
wide range of possible biotechnological applica-
Clean Wealth from the The pharmaceutical and laboratory supplier
The robot recognises the component held by the worker and carefully fol-
lows her hand until it’s handed over. (Image: Fraunhofer IWU)
tions, such as the development of vaccines.
Biotechnological pharmaceuticals are often devel-
Cleanroom Sartorius has invested over 100 million USD
in Puerto Rico to double the future produc-
oped from tailored proteins. The genes carrying in- Ethical diamonds from the tion capacity of the Sartorius plant in Yauco Gesture Recognition
formation about the desired proteins are trans-
ferred to bacteria or mammalian cells. The genes laboratory are becoming
and promote the economic development of
the Caribbean region.
Industrial robot intuitively
usually have to be adapted to the host cells to facili-
tate the reading of the transferred genes and the more affordable
Work at the 190,000 square metre site is ex-
pected to be completed by the second quarter
interacts with people
imaging of the encoded proteins. The research of 2019. The factory in the south west of
group has now managed to use machine learning They were known as the “tears of the gods” in ancient times Puerto Rico mainly supplies the US market, The Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming
techniques to consider further protein yield predic- and ascribed magical healing powers in the Middle Ages. which is one of the main drivers of growth at Technology (IWU) has developed a piece of technology that
tors and determine the so-called “protein expres- They’ve since been hailed “a girl’s best friend” and sold as Sartorius. This expansion is a financially and facilitates intuitive communication and teamwork be-
sion score”. This means the protein yield can be cal- loving gifts, but researchers are now demystifying the leg- strategically important investment for the tween people and large industrial robots – similar to hu-
culated more accurately and then exploited for the endary gems – they’re just a piece of carbon with a special world-leading partner of bio-pharmaceutical man colleagues. The robots can recognise and react to ges-
codon optimisation of the genes. The required al- crystalline structure. research and industry: Its production net- tures, faces and postures.
gorithm was integrated in a special piece of soft- Diamonds have now been made in the laboratory for over work will be developed to provide even more Cooperation between people and robots is still limited in
ware to enable this gene optimisation. However, 50 years. All their properties like purity, colour and size room for growth in the Americas. modern production halls. Heavy-duty robots may now
the algorithm can also be genetically modified and have been investigated and defined in high-tech processes. Sartorius has been producing filters in Yauco work alongside their human colleagues without a safety
attenuated with pathogens for the opposite pur- When the precious stones are produced in the cleanroom, since 1982 and disposable sterile bags since fence, but direct interaction isn’t possible. For safety rea-
pose (de-optimisation). This is the process used in nothing is left to geological chance. The procedure has 2012. The expansion will more than double sons, robots are immobilised as soon as a person enters the
the development of vaccines: Live vaccines are de- since been perfected to such an extent that the products are its production of disposable bags and mem- large security perimeter around them.
rived from the original pathogen and genetically no longer only used as drill bits and grinders, but also sold brane filters, and also triple its cleanroom The new technology increases the efficiency of this cooper-
modified to produce an immune response in people by jewellers. capacities. Its workforce is also expected to ation to streamline the entire production process. People
while suppressing their reproduction and patho- This has given rise to lots of enthusiasm in the industry, as increase from the current figure of 450 em- can now communicate and cooperate with heavy-duty ro-
genic potential. lab diamonds are much more affordable than their natural ployees. bots in a more secure and interactive environment. The ro-
After assessing various model organisms, the re- counterparts due to their efficient production process. bots detect and process gestures, postures and facial ex-
PHOTO: SARTORIUS
searchers determined that the new simulation-aid- The retail price of highly standardised laboratory dia- pressions. The use of gesture recognition had previously
ed optimisation method was better than the con- monds has almost halved over the past two years. Whole- been limited to the gaming industry, but industrial robots
ventional approach. An international patent has sale prices are said to have dropped even more, because are now also able to recognise complex orders based on
been requested for the new codon optimisation production costs in laboratories are constantly falling. De- hand and arm gestures. 3D cameras and intelligent algo-
technique. spite the high technological demands, the production pro- rithms ensure that gestures aren’t interpreted as an in-
cess isn’t overly complicated: Microwave-heated methane struction as soon as the person looks away or talks to some-
and other gases are broken down at over 3,000°C in a plas- one. A tool or workpiece, for example, will only be handed
ma reactor, so that the carbon atoms contained in the over if this can be done safely.
methane are adsorbed onto a glowing diamond plate. A
new diamond then grows over a few weeks.
While experts were able to spot lab diamonds by their yel-
lowish impurities a few years ago, the products can now
even be used as flawless pieces of jewellery. Unlike their
natural counterparts, which are often obtained in the most
unfavourable conditions for people and the environment,
jewels from the laboratory don’t give any cause for ethical
concerns.
6 CLEANROOM FUTURE 2 | 19 CLEANROOM FUTURE 2 | 19 7
Back to
the
Moon
THE NEW RUN
ON EARTH’S SATELLITE
The earth rises behind the cratered surface of the moon on 24 December 1968. This first ever man-made photo was taken during the Apollo 8 mission. As they orbited
the moon, the blue planet was 240,000 miles away.
8 CLEANROOM FUTURE 2 | 19
INNOVATION & FUTURE > BACK TO THE MOON
„Houston, this is tranquility base. The eagle has landed!“ When Neil Armstrong
radioed these words to Earth on 20 July 1969 at 8:17 p.m. UTC, one of mankind’s
greatest challenges had entered its crucial phase. More than 600 million people
on Earth watched in front of the screens as a human being prepared to set foot on a
foreign celestial body for the first time ever. A few hours later, he made that “small
step for man” that meant “one giant leap for mankind.” After several relatively calm
decades, the exploration and planned utilization of the moon is now entering a new
phase. Who participates in this new step and which goals are being pursued?
BY KAI DÜRFELD dustry standards.” To facilitate this, he and his team
have developed ALINA (Autonomous Landing and
Fifty years have passed since the “first step for Navigation Module). The unmanned moon naviga-
mankind”. Even though five more manned moon tion module can transport about 300 kilograms of
landings followed until 1972, the space race was won payload to Earth’s satellite. In 2021, ALINA is sched-
(we report more on this topic in the box). New goals uled to set off on a maiden flight and at the same
had now been set for space travel: constant presence time lead the moon into the Internet age.
in Earth’s orbit, the exploration of the outer solar “We have now also established our first major
system, and, of course, the Red Planet. Luna ceased partnerships,” states Böhme. “We are collaborating
to be in the focus. with Nokia Bell Labs and Vodafone. We are joint-
Until today. Because for a few years now, Earth’s ly developing the first base station for the moon,
satellite seems to be back on everyone’s lips. The which will make it possible to use the standard LTE
American NewSpace company SpaceX plans to en- network up there.” For this, the station not only has
able tourists to orbit the moon. The Chinese space to be compact, light and economical regarding en-
agency CNAS has an ambitious lunar program, ergy consumption, but also has to be able to defy
whose recent milestones included the first land- the harsh environment (for the exact features it is
ing of a probe on the dark side of the moon. Israel required to have, please read the contents of the box
has also focussed on Earth’s satellite, and the probe “Moon”). But this effort could be worthwhile. “LTE
Beresheet shattered on its surface in April 2019. Of was developed for Earth. With a cell range of be-
course, space champions such as NASA (U.S.A.), RO- tween 15 and 150 kilometres, data can be transmit-
SCOSMOS (Russia), JAXA (Japan) and ESA (Europe) ted over large distances in an energy-saving man-
also take part in the new endeavours. And even the ner,” explains IT specialist Böhme, who has been
private sector seems to be “moonstruck”. One of the engaged in space travel as a career jumper. “LTE
new companies is the Berlin-based NewSpace start- transmits audio and data at high-speed, in parallel
ALL PHOTOS: NASA – EXCEPT FOR THE MARKED
up PTScientists. and in real-time. And it has already been established
as a communication standard.”
Leading the moon into the Internet age
with LTE Transmitting data in space is supreme art
“We are developing infrastructure in space,” In his opinion, data transmission and data pro-
Robert Böhme, who founded the company in 2010, cessing in space are supreme art. Particularly pri-
puts in a nutshell. “With our technologies, we just vate companies, which have little experience in
want to enable everyone to gain access to space and space so far, usually shy away from these fields. In
Astronaut and lunar module pilot, Buzz Aldrin, carries out extra-vehicular activities (EVAs) on the surface of the moon during the Apollo 11 mission (July 1969).
The term “EVA” or “spacewalk” refers to any work done outside spacecraft, including any external work carried out at a space station and the collection of soil
to be active there in the long term via established in- contrast, LTE is well established in the industry. For
samples. These operations are also known as “lunar extra-vehicular activities” (LEVAs) or “moonwalks”. LEVAs are considered dangerous, because the astronaut
leaves the secure environment of his vehicle and enters the free vacuum of space with nothing but a suit for protection.
10 CLEANROOM FUTURE 2 | 19 CLEANROOM FUTURE 2 | 19 11
INNOVATION & FUTURE > BACKT TO THE MOON INNOVATION & FUTURE > BACK TO THE MOON
example, the largely autonomously operating ma- moon over long distances, but they could also call completely refrain from using cleanrooms if it is participate in this community with unmanned and
chinery of terrestrial mining companies is coordi- home. Robots could not only exchange status up- not required by their clients. Of course, this also de- manned missions.”
nated by means of the telecommunications stand- dates with each other, but also receive commands pends on the type of work performed,” he qualifies According to David Parker, Director of Human
ard. Böhme and his team deliberately refrained from Earth. his statement. “If a dust particle ruins your engine, and Robotic Exploration at ESA, their goal is to ex-
from any optimization for the use in space and in- it was obviously constructed poorly. This is differ- pand human presence beyond low earth orbit (LEO).
stead completely adjusted their system to the in- First own cleanroom, as required by the cus- ent with optics devices. These will certainly be fin- And the moon is the key to further exploration of
dustry standard. “Otherwise, we would lose com- tomer ished in cleanrooms.” And cleanrooms will also be the solar system. “So far, we have hardly explored
patibility. And that is important to us,” he reveals. PTScientists started as one of the participants utilized for the storage of the payload, i.e. the freight the moon,” says Parker. “It is like a museum of the
“Everybody, no matter whether they are pupils, stu- in Google’s Lunar X-Prize. Their goal: to land a pri- that ALINA will later take to the moon on behalf of last four and a half billion years of our solar sys-
dents, scientists or entrepreneurs should be able to vate probe on the moon and to explore its surface the customers, says Böhme. tem. And so far, we only visited the museum shop,
connect to the base station on the moon. A standard with a rover transported by this probe. The original No matter whether transport capacity or tele- grabbed some souvenirs and then went back home.”
smartphone is planned to be enough to go online on team of six has meanwhile grown to 80 employees. communications are referred to: Böhme believes in Parker is convinced that the next mission to the
the moon.” As base station, ALINA will receive the The 2,200 square metres of production and labora- the enormous potential offered by space explora- moon should therefore not be a short visit. Thus, it
signals from LTE-enabled devices on the moon and tory facilities are currently being expanded by an- tion. “In the past three or four years, virtually all na- is necessary to build a base and it should be locat-
establish a broadband connection to Earth in the other storey. There, their first own cleanroom will tional programs have simultaneously changed their ed in an orbit around the moon. The Lunar Orbit-
future. It is then planned that not only astronauts be installed. “The topic of cleanrooms is very inter- focus to the moon, with budgets worth billions of al Platform Gateway, or simply Gateway is designed
will be able to communicate with each other on the esting,” says Böhme. “Many NewSpace companies dollars,” he says. “There was certainly a lot of con- to have multiple tasks: a new space technology test
sultation between all involved stakeholders. And I bench, a training centre for astronauts before they
believe that Europe has paved the way for this de- fly to Mars, a hub for activities between the lunar
“If a dust particle ruins your engine, it was
PHOTO: ZVG
velopment. What Mr. Wörner did with his project surface and Earth, and a lab for experiments in a
obviously constructed poorly. This is differ-
Moon Village, I think that this really was a catalyst.” wide range of scientific disciplines. U.S. Americans,
Europeans, Russians, Japanese and Canadians in-
ent with optics devices. These will certainly
Proposition: a village on the moon tend to build the planned space station beginning in
Jan Wörner had only held the position of the di- 2022. “The Gateway is part of our strategy to return
be finished in cleanrooms.” rector general of ESA for about a week, and in an in-
terview, he told the BBC his vision for space travel:
to the moon,” explains Parker. And it could serve as
a supply station for future Mars missions with spare
“We should look into the future, beyond the Inter- parts, supplies and fuel.
Robert Böhme, founder and CEO of PTScientists
national Space Station. I propose a village on the According to experts’ calculations, the raw ma-
dark side of the moon. We should not think of such terials for this endeavour could come from the moon
a moon village as some houses, a church, and a town itself. They are now convinced that there are larger
hall. Instead, partners from around the world should water supplies on the moon. “Transforming this wa-
Race to Space “Let’s strike a compromise – let’s do the country wasn’t prepared
to go down without a fight.
ever been made. A manned
Moon landing was also being
exactly what I say”. It needed a bigger objective planned in the Soviet Union
The race got off to a quiet start. In 1955, President Eisenhower Sergei Pawlowitsch Koroljow than ever before. And that’s – but quietly. This remained a
announced that an artificial satellite would be sent to space as exactly what John F. Kennedy secret until Gorbachev’s time
part of the International Geophysical Year. The Soviet Union was announced on 25 May 1961:“I in office. The Soyuz spacecraft
quick to counter with an identical reply. The world hardly took ing creature – Laika the dog – in the same year. Two years later, believe that this nation should was supposed to take cosmo-
notice of either of them. But this all changed rather suddenly on they sent the first probe into orbit around the Moon, conducted commit itself to achieving the nauts to the Moon, and the gi-
4 October 1957… Sputnik 1, a shiny silver sphere measuring al- a controlled crash on the lunar surface and landed softly on the goal, before this decade is out, gantic N1 rocket was designed
most 60 cm in diameter and equipped with four antennae, was Earth’s satellite for the first time in 1966. But the biggest step of landing a man on the Moon to break through the earth’s Astronaut Pete Conrad (Apollo 12)
launched into space. The gateway to space had been opened came on 12 April 1961 when Yuri Gagarin became the first man and returning him safely to the gravitational field. But it wasn’t investigates Surveyor 3
and the two major competing nations had a new arena. The Cold to leave his home planet. They Earth. No single space pro- meant to be… Korolev’s death
War was in full swing. Market capitalism or a communist planned weren’t going to stand for that ject in this period will be more in 1966 was a sore loss. And even the new rocket didn’t make
economy – reaching space on the other side of the Atlan- impressive to mankind or more it into orbit. The project was finally cancelled in 1974 after four
would allow each country to tic… While the American armed Start Apollo 11 important for the long-range failed launches. In the eyes of the world, Apollo 11 had decided
flaunt their superiority to the forces had previously competed exploration of space – and the race to space once and for all – even though more milestones
entire world. The West didn’t for rocket development fund- none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish”. The race to followed like the first space station (the Russian Salyut) and the
really think the Soviet Union ing, civil space flight was put in space now had a new objective, and the Apollo programme was first probes to the inner and outer planets.
would be capable of such an the hands of the newly found- born. Almost 24 billion USD were invested, which would be over
achievement, but Moscow offi- ed NASA in 1958. The German 120 billion USD today. And around 400,000 people worked on
Sputnik 1 cials pulled out all the stops to aerospace engineer Wernher the project. They built the Saturn 5 – the largest rocket that had
prove them wrong. The key fig- von Braun and his team became
ure in Soviet astronautics was a man who, even in his own coun- the figureheads of the Ameri-
try, was known simply as the “Chief Designer”. His name – Sergei can space programme. Amer-
Pavlovich Korolev – was kept a state secret. His experimental ica had just come in second “It’s my job to never be satisfied”.
design bureau OKB-1 followed the first satellite with the first liv- place for the second time – and Juri Gagarin Freiherr Wernher von Braun
12 CLEANROOM FUTURE 2 | 19 CLEANROOM FUTURE 2 | 19 13
INNOVATION & FUTURE > BACKT TO THE MOON INNOVATION & FUTURE > BACK TO THE MOON
„The moon is like a museum of the last four and a half Life in extreme
billion years of our solar system. And so far, we only
visited the museum shop, grabbed some souvenirs and
conditions
then went back home.“ On Earth, life has conquered even the most inhos-
pitable niches. Archaea, bacteria, as well as lichens
and fungi, thrive in the boiling water of geysers, re-
David Parker, Director of Human and Robotic Exploration at ESA
sist salt concentrations that resemble curing brine,
love an environment that is as acidic as battery ac-
id, or easily withstand the icy temperatures at the
poles. They are called extremophile organisms, be-
cause they love extremes. But there are even tough-
er conditions – in the BIOMEX experiment at DLR,
the toughest representatives of life on Earth had to
endure a vacuum, intense UV radiation and enor-
Planetary
ter into oxygen and water is a step towards sustain- station on the moon or in its orbit. Or – in the sense mous temperature fluctuations for 533 days. An or-
able exploration,” says Parker. “The next step will of an extra-terrestrial gas station – provide supplies deal that some of them actually survived. The quin-
then be to locally produce different things with the for the journey of spaceships for their flight to Mars tessence of such experiments: if life is so tough, then
protector as a
materials found on the moon – spare parts for our and beyond. “This is the most sensible energetic ap- it could very well be possible that it exists on other
spacecraft or the habitats to shelter the astronauts. proach. And also the most sustainable one”, says celestial bodies – or at least be transferred to them
And eventually, we will also transport raw materials Böhme and once again refers to the low gravity and from Earth. But which planets are characterised by
profession
back to Earth.” But he thinks that this is still science the lack of atmosphere on Earth’s satellite. favourable conditions for this goal?
fiction. “For exactly the same reason, satellite servicing
has been attracting growing interest for a few years If life is so tough, would it then
Refineries for water extraction now.” The concept is to increase the lifetime of sat-
Böhme also takes the production of fuels on the ellites by accessing, refuelling, repairing or upgrad- be possible that it exists on other
moon for an interesting project. “We have just won ing them by means of service satellites. However, celestial bodies? An interview with planetary protection
the ISRU tender by ESA and will investigate exactly if this service is started from Earth, gravity and at-
this topic in the context of a mission.” Water extrac- mosphere inevitably increase costs. “But exactly expert Dr Petra Rettberg
tion is the focal point of this mission. This cannot the same service could be started from the moon,”
only be processed into drinking water, but also split Böhme is certain about. “You utilize its resources, fly
up into oxygen and hydrogen. Both gases are worth the satellites into Earth orbit using these resources
Without question, the departure to the
a mint on the moon. One for breathing, the other as and then you return to the moon.” moon was one of the greatest challenges of
the basis for rocket fuels. On the one hand, the pro- mankind so far. Never before, someone had
cessed raw materials could then supply a research Titanium and rare earths – the moon offers a
wide variety of industrial raw materials set foot on another celestial body. Owing
And this could only be the beginning. Because to extensive observations and unmanned
as a former part of Earth, the moon has supplies of
a wide range of industrial raw materials. Titanium,
probes, the conditions on the moon’s surface
for example, from which lunar structures can be were reasonably well-known in advance.
constructed, as well as spaceships and probes. Or Liquid water is the prerequisite for life, at least as we But it was unknown at this time, what the
the elements that are summarized under the term know it. That is is the reason why researchers in the
Apollo astronauts actually expected there,
Fly me to the Moon rare earths and have ascended to the quintessence late fifties of the last century defined areas around
of modern electronics in recent years. Unlike their stars as habitable zones in which water is perma- and whether they might even encounter
The gateway to space was open. People were free from the name might suggest, they are however quite com- nently liquid. Over the course of the years, this mod-
unknown life. We talked with the interna-
shackles of the Earth. The first Moon landing was just a breath mon on Earth, too. “But their mining is consider- el has been constantly refined. Parameters such as
away. The first Mars landing seemed to be the next logical ably polluting our environment,” explains Böhme. the size of the celestial body and the condition of tionally recognized expert Dr Petra Rettberg,
step and only a matter of time. The vision of the future was opti- He considers the moon to be potentially helpful re- its atmosphere were added. Mars is a doubtful case how space programmes today deal with
mistic in the 1950s and 60s. It looked like science and technolo- garding this issue in the future. “Personally, I am regarding these parameters. Although it is still very
gy could make anything possible. Nuclear power looked set firmly convinced that the exploration and utiliza- close to having a habitable zone, it is too small for possible contamination, traces of life or
to solve our energy problems, the seas were seen as the solution tion of space will bring mankind a great step for- developing a permanent atmosphere. It is currently transfers.
to world hunger, and space was seen as mankind’s new home. ward. It will improve our lives and preserve this at the focus of scientists, whether life ever originat-
The American airline Pan America was so sure of this that it even planet. Thus, I think that this is also the right step to ed on the Red Planet, or perhaps could even have
opened a waiting list for potential space tourists in 1964. But the protect Earth.” ● survived in niches. And at the latest since space At the time, the motto was safety first. Up to the Apollo 14
euphoria quickly came to an end … These glamorous visions be- probes have closer analysed the outer solar system, mission, a quarantine was obligatory for the crews on their re-
came murky in 1972 when the Club of Rome published “The Lim- a to a certain extent life-sustaining environment is turn to Earth – but only after shaking hands at the press confer-
its to Growth”. Issues like environmental pollution, the scarcity of attributed even to the extreme worlds far out there. ence, as regular. And the 382 kilograms of lunar rocks that the
raw materials and population explosion took centre stage. This Among them are the Jupiter moons Ganymede Apollo astronauts brought back from the moon? An investiga-
was followed by war in the Middle East and an oil crisis that sent and Europe, but also the Saturn moons Enceladus tion in 2012 unveiled great losses. Some samples donated to re-
the economy into a tailspin. and Titan. search institutes have not been returned to date. Others – given
14 CLEANROOM FUTURE 2 | 19 CLEANROOM FUTURE 2 | 19 15
INNOVATION & FUTURE > BACKT TO THE MOON INNOVATION & FUTURE > BACK TO THE MOON
away to heads of state all over the world – have been stolen, yet Dr Rettberg, who is planetary protection meant to protect? What has to be considered in this context for a mission to
others have been lost in unknown ways. To this day, there seems There are two reasons for planetary protection. Firstly, we need the moon?
to be no complete inventory. to protect Earth when samples from potentially habitable plac- There are hard rules for space missions. Each celestial body is
Therefore, the lost items only amount to a few per cent of es in our solar system are transported here, because they might assigned to a planetary protection category. Category one has
the total NASA arsenal of lunar samples. Today, it is also con- pose a threat. This is what we call backward planetary protec- the lowest requirements, category five is the one with the high-
sidered to be proven that no biological hazards are lurking on tion. And secondly, we have to prevent taking contaminations to est requirements. And the moon is assigned to category two.
the moon. For other celestial bodies, this cannot yet be ruled other celestial bodies. We call this forward planetary protection. This means: for a moon mission, you only have to document
out so easily. Meanwhile, mankind is not only attracted to trav- exactly, which organic compounds you have transported with
elling back to the moon. Mars is already a definite destination To protect our own planet against foreign forms of life, this you. Thus, this is only paperwork.
and sooner or later, unmanned probes will take off to the icy sounds comprehensible. But why does this protection also For example: assume that a mission transports 20 kilograms
moons of the outer solar system. Today, there is heated discsus- include other celestial bodies? of an organic compound on board of their vessel. It crashes
sion that biomolecules or even traces of life could at least the- Planetary protection refers to all celestial bodies on which we and the material spreads in a radius of a few kilometers on the
oretically slumber deep in the bottom of the Red Planet, under either plan to investigate prebiotic chemistry, organic chemis- moon after the impact. If another mission is searching for or-
the mighty ice shells of Enceladus or within the dense cloud try or astrobiological issues. In other words, all of these objects ganic compounds and finds what they are looking for 100 years
cover of Titan. – mainly Mars and the icy moons of the outer solar system – are later, they have to be able to allocate these materials to the pre-
Dr Petra Rettberg is investigating what this means for future particularly protected. In these cases, we have to make sure that vious crash.
space missions. She is the head of the astrobiology research we do not unintentionally take organic contaminants or micro-
group at the Institute of Aerospace Medicine of the German organisms there. And in case of potentially habitable celestial bodies? Can
Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt This is because we would claim that there is life on Mars or on it be guaranteed that no microorganisms travel across the Part of the 111 kg of moonstone that was brought back to earth during the Apollo
– DLR) in Cologne. In the interview, the expert on planetary Europe or Enceladus, if we find these on later missions to the solar system? 17 mission and presented to 135 different nations as “goodwill moon rock”.
protection tells us how today’s samples from foreign worlds respective celestial body. These would then represent false-pos- You can ensure that they travel below a certain limit. And there
are handled, which requirements this means for future clean- itive results and we would ruin our own investigations with is a whole range of measures for this purpose. However, this is
rooms, and why we not only have to protect 0our own planet them. Forward planetary protection therefore aims to ensure basically not new. This was already implemented for NASA’s This task is performed by other colleagues. In this context, you
from foreign microorganisms. the integrity of our scientific analyzes. Viking missions in the 1970s of the last century. You have to have to consider one thing in particular: if you kill a microor-
be aware of the necessary effort right from the beginning. You ganism by means of a sterilization procedure and do not re-
have to regularly take samples when assembling a spacecraft move its remains from the surface, it still represents an organic
and document everything thoroughly. Of course, all individual contamination. This means that if highly sensitive instruments
parts must also be cleaned and sterilized, depending on high search for organic compounds later, they would produce posi-
the the requirements are. That is manageable. It just has to be tive findings. Lipids can be found in any case, but also proteins
planned. You cannot finish construction and then sterilize the and fragments of DNA.
vessel as a whole.
And this is where you come into play. Because your insti- „Mars samples are transported
tute examines whether all requirements have been met.
Yes, and this practical relationship is what makes my work so ex-
to Earth in containers
that roughly have the size of
BE YOUR
citing for me. Right now, we are making measurements for the
ExoMars 2020 mission on behalf of ESA Planetary Protection,
a football.“
BEST
which is scheduled to be launched next year. My colleagues
will then run another measurement campaign at Thales Alenia
Space Italy in Turin. There, the vehicle for the ExoMars mission What does happen with the collected samples afterwards?
will be constructed. And in this process, samples are taken reg- We have to analyze them within 24 hours of collection in our
ularly, too. We subsequently analyze them and can determine laboratory. We culture them in medium in Petri dishes, incu-
how many microorganisms are on the spacecraft and which bate them for 72 hours and then count the formed colonies.
type they belong to. Another set of samples is sent to our Austrian partner institute
WE’VE GOT
in Graz. There, the genetic material, the DNA, is isolated. Using
This means you are an independent certification body for molecular methods, our colleagues then examine which DNA
YOU COVERED
planetary protection? of which organisms is present in the respective sample. Only
Exactly. Thales Alenia have to perform most of the measure- a certain part of the existing microorganisms can be captured
ments on their own, and ESA instructed us to make control with cultivation. In addition, a different, much larger propor-
measurements at certain times. For such control measure- tion is captured by molecular methods.
ments, there are standards in whose development I also partic-
ipated. For small surfaces of up to 25 square centimeters, we use And when maximum limits are exceeded?
At KimtechTM, we understand it’s swabs. These special rods are similar to Q-tips. For larger sur- In this case, the manufacturer has to disassemble, clean and
critical you get the best possible faces, we use whips. These are special polyester wipes, which reassemble the entire spacecraft. But that has never happened
protection for your people and processes. Discover the new have to be sterile, of course. We also take air samples and conse- – at least not to us. Because the manufacturing companies are
That’s why we’re proud to reintroduce our KimtechTM Brand and quently, we can also control the atmosphere in the cleanroom. extremely experienced, of course, and perform their own con-
world-class protective solutions and services. our new website at trol measurements on a daily basis anyway.
Our compliant product range has got you covered –
so you can concentrate on what you do best. www.kimtech.eu Are you particularly looking for biological contaminations
in this process? These probes are designed to transport samples from Mars
Correct. In this context, we exclusively work with biological to Earth. And also the astronauts, who later set foot on the
contamination. We cannot analyze organic contaminations. Red Planet, want to return home safely. Are we therefore
KIM1645 Half Page Cleanroom Ad_190x130.indd 1 21/05/2019 09:41
16 CLEANROOM FUTURE 2 | 19 CLEANROOM FUTURE 2 | 19 17
INNOVATION & FUTURE > BACKT TO THE MOON INNOVATION & FUTURE > BACK TO THE MOON
unknown particles. In the future, when we will have studied
„This means that without the approval
PHOTO: ZVG
Mars very closely and intensively and can rule out that there
is life there, all these regulations will be eliminated. But dur-
ing the first decades, in which we do not really know Mars well
of NASA, even Elon Musk cannot build a
enough – particularly have not yet studied it to its depths – this colony on Mars.“
is not possible.
Dr Petra Rettberg, planetary protection expert
It is in the nature of a sample return mission to transport
unknown material from a foreign world to Earth. Under
which conditions are they stored and examined here?
That depends on where they came from. So far, we have no
samples of habitable celestial bodies here on Earth. We only
have samples from the moon – and there are many of them –
and dust samples from space. These stem from the Japanese
mission Hayabusa, for example. OSIRIS-Rex, which is still in
transit to its destination, will also bring some samples back to cleanrooms will be required to be technically equipped. On the
This picture was taken by the Curiosity Rover on Mars (Mission Sol 673*) on a Earth. These dust particles are extremely valuable. Every single one hand, they will have to meet the safety requirements of bi-
late afternoon in 2014. It shows a field with small sand dunes. grain is carefully stored and examined. Their storage and cer- osafety level 4 laboratories. Such laboratories are already avail-
tainly their examination takes place in cleanrooms. It is neces- able in various countries today. But they are designed to pro-
not inevitably introducing extraterrestrial material to our sary to avoid that particles from the normal environment get tect people in them while those are working with pathogenic
home planet? in contact with the samples accidentally, because this would organisms. However, in cleanrooms for Mars samples, a sec-
It does not have to be this way. And particularly in case of Mars, once again provide false-positive results. However, the require- ond aspect is important. We must by all means avoid that the
it must not be like that. Anything that is covered by any kind ments are much lower than for samples coming from possibly valuable samples are contaminated with terrestrial particles
of particles, such as dust, must not unprotectedly and uncon- inhabited planets. or even terrestrial microorganisms. Thus, special precautions
trolledly be transported to Earth. have to be taken in both directions – firstly to protect Earth and
And how do cleanrooms look like, in which future samples the staff working here, but secondly also to protect the valua-
And how can this be prevented? from Mars or one of the icy moons will be examined? ble samples.
Mars samples are transported to Earth in containers that rough- So far, there are no cleanrooms for samples, in which the risk of
ly have the size of a football. Their hull consists of several lay- spreading possibly existing extraterrestrial forms of life could Are such cleanrooms already being planned?
ers. The outer shells, which have had contact with the Martian exist. But there are already very concrete concepts how these Yes. The requirements are really specific. And there are already
atmosphere and dust, are blown off in the Mars orbit already. preliminary studies on how to implement this technically. This
We refer to this as the chain of contact. It is a very complicated is also related to the fact that NASA will launch a major Mars
process, with which you can make sure that the chain of contact mission next year – Mars 2020. This is the first step of a Mars
is definitely broken. It is performed to ensure that no particles sample return mission. This means that in this mission, a Mars
are unintentionally introduced from Mars unchecked. All oth-
er items or equipment are left on the surface or in orbit. Or they
Contract for the lander carrying a rover will take samples at various locations on
Mars and fill them into special containers. These will initially
are blown off. protection of the solar be stored on the surface of Mars. Later, missions will be sent to
collect the approximately 30 to 40 small containers and trans-
This means that all travellers to Mars will have to leave system port them to orbit and eventually to Earth. Currently, these mis-
even their space suits there? sions have not acquired funding yet. But they will definitely be
Yes, definitely. And this is a very interesting topic. Manned mis- “Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of international. But it will certainly take a long time until reali-
sions to Mars have been planned for a long time by different na- States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, zation. And until then, it is required to set up a suitable clean-
tions and organizations. However, it will take at least 20 or 30 including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies” – room. Where exactly this cleanroom is installed is also a mat-
years before these missions can be realized. But already now, in this document with the slightly cumbersome title, ter of politics and financing. At the moment, it looks as if it will
technologies how to build habitats, how to build safe locks, and more than 100 states agreed on rules for the peaceful probably be located in the U.S. This is how an artist envisaged explorations on the surface of Mars in 2005.
how to prevent dust from entering a habitat are being devel- utilization of space in 1967. The Outer Space Treaty
oped. This is because particularly during the Apollo missions, (or: Space Contract) prohibits annexing foreign ce- Will the samples then be examined on Earth in a single Let’s dare to take a look into the future. How will planetary
astronauts established that there is a major problem with dust, lestial bodies into a state’s own territory as well as laboratory or sent to various research facilities, as it was protection be guaranteed when private companies imple-
even on the moon. And the moon does not even have an at- stationing nuclear weapons in space or conducting the case with the Apollo missions? ment their plans for colonies on Mars?
mosphere. Nevertheless, dust was carried into the spaceships. military maneuvers on the moon. But also liability Apollo was another era. When shipping samples, it is not only Planetary protection is stipulated in the Outer Space Treaty
This means that they were not really hermetically sealed. Not questions for damages caused by crashed spacecraft the case that the recipients have to fulfill all safety precautions. of the United Nations. There has been an article that exactly
in inward direction and therefore neither in outward direction. on Earth or rescue measures for spacemen in dis- It also has to be guaranteed that the containers do not leak on deals with this issue since 1967. And this Outer Space Treaty
This is where backward and forward planetary protection meet? tress, as well as planetary protection are governed in their transit either in the event of an accident or a plane crash, was signed by more than one hundred countries, including the
Right. On the one hand, we have to protect Mars for future sci- this contract. Article 9 states: “States Parties to the and that the samples could then spread uncontrollably in the major spacefaring nations. Its implementation is governed by
entific investigations. As human beings, we also spread many Treaty shall pursue studies of outer space, includ- biosphere. Therefore, it is planned that the very first examina- the Committee of Space Research, abbreviated as COSPA. And
microorganisms, which are natural parts of us. We have to con- ing the moon and other celestial bodies, and conduct tions will be carried out in a single, sufficiently equipped labo- this commitee has implemented a Planetary Protection Policy,
sider how to limit this spread and find technical solutions. Ex- exploration of them so as to avoid their harmful con- ratory. Then, you either know that there is no danger and that which is regularly updated according to the latest status quo
perts are already working on this issue, too. But these are long- tamination and also adverse changes in the environ- there are no living organisms involved. In this case, the sample of science and technology. Since the U.S. have signed the Out-
term research programmes. On the other hand, we also have to ment of the Earth resulting from the introduction can be divided, shipped and examined in normal laboratories. er Space Treaty, too, they are now responsible for all American
protect the astronauts who land there and want to return back of extraterrestrial matter and, where necessary, shall Or you realize that life forms are actually involved. Then, we activities in this field. This means that without the approval of
to Earth. And they are prohibited to accidentally bring along adopt appropriate measures for this purpose.” will have to see how to go on. NASA, even Elon Musk cannot build a colony on Mars. ●
18 CLEANROOM FUTURE 2 | 19 CLEANROOM FUTURE 2 | 19 19INNOVATION & FUTURE > BACK TO THE MOON
THE FOURTH INDUSTRIAL
gen and some noble gases have been found. Some of these
come from the solar wind, while others escape the bowels of
the Moon.
REVOLUTION IS PRESENTLY The Moon fully orbits our home planet every 27.3 earth days. It
also takes the same amount of time for it to rotate on its own
RIDING A HIGH WAVE axis. This is known as “tidal locking” and ensures that there are
29.5 full earth days between two sunrises on the moon. Luna’s
surface heats up to around 130°C during the day. Without a buff-
ering atmosphere, the heat escapes during its long nights; mer-
cury freezes at 160 degrees below zero. If you’d like to spend
a decent amount of time on the Moon, you’ll have to withstand
these enormous swings in temperature. You won’t find a mag-
netic field on the Moon either. As a result, charged particles from
the solar wind crash down on the surface without any form of
restriction. The ions – mainly hydrogen, helium, neon, carbon
and nitrogen – penetrate the lunar rock. It’s a real goldmine for
scientists, as they can read the history of the solar wind over
millions of years.
The most common theory is that the Moon was formed around
4.52 billion years ago when Theia collided with the young Earth.
The roughly Mars-sized body had a glancing impact with our
Leipzig Lunar Map, 1881 – 1903, Andrees Allgemeiner Handatlas Verlag, home planet. That was the end for Theia. The celestial body be-
Velhagen and Klasing, Leipzig (Germany) came part of the Earth, but the pieces of debris that had made
it into orbit formed the Moon.
Ever since its formation, the Moon has been exposed to constant
meteor bombardments. Without an atmosphere, the falling rocks
The Moon hit and pulverise the surface in the truest sense of the word.
That’s why the Moon is now shrouded in several metres of lunar
The ancient Greeks named it after the goddess Selene, the Ro- soil (lunar dust). In addition to silicon, this regolith mainly consists
mans named it in honour of the goddess Luna, and we just call of aluminium (between 14.9 and 24 %), iron (between 5.9 and
the Earth’s faithful companion the Moon – with a capital letter. 14.1 %) and titanium (between 0.6 and 3.9 %). Hidden under the
After all, the word “moon” (lower case) is used to refer to any nat- dust is a thick crust measuring 60 to 150 kilometres in depth, fol-
ural satellite that orbits a planet. lowed by a further layer. Scientists suspect this interesting layer
While the gas giants Jupiter and Saturn are surrounded by a holds rich deposits of phosphorous, rare-earth elements and nu-
whole zoo of moons (with 79 and 62 known satellites respec- clear fuels like uranium and thorium.
tively), the Earth has just the one. Its diameter measures 3,476 Water has also been detected. A re-examination of the Apollo
kilometres around the equator, which is around a quarter of the samples in 2010 found they contained 0.6 % water. And in the
Earth’s diameter. This makes it the fifth-largest moon in the so- same year, the Indian probe Chandrayaan-1 found at least 600
lar system behind Ganymede, Titan, Callisto and Io. There are million tons of water ice at the lunar north pole – another treas-
between 363,300 and 405,500 kilometres between the Earth ure that could make it much easier to settle on our little satellite
The 4th industrial revolution – Indus- Author Frank Duvernell is a success- and the Moon. Electromagnetic radiation, such as light and radio in the future.
try 4.0 – is presently riding a high ful entrepreneur with a baggage of signals, can cover this distance in just over a second. By way of
wave. Technological trends – like, more than 34 years of hands-on ex- comparison: Depending on the distance between the two plan-
to mention just a few – Internet of perience in the cleanroom sector, and ets, a signal would need between 3 and 23 minutes to get from
Things, Smart Factory, 3D-Print, is envisaging a futuristic business Earth to Mars.
Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Big concept for practitioners in the field.
Data – are not only dramatically The Moon weighs a proud 73.5 trillion tons (7.349 x 1,022 kilo-
changing our global manufacturing This book is intended to be an ef- Frank Duvernell grams) – that’s around 1.23 % of the Earth’s mass. Gravitational
approaches but also our present fective wake-up call to all those in-
working environments. terested and aims at breaking away Now. Next. Future. acceleration on the lunar surface is 1.62 m/s2 (9.80665 m/s2
Using Cleanroom Technology on the Earth). In order to overcome this gravitational pull and as-
from the old structures and models,
cend into a lunar orbit, a body has to travel at a speed of 2,380
One of the main beneficiaries of this while at the same time encourages a
continuous innovation is undoubt- new way of thinking. metres per second (8,568 kilometres per hour). By way of com-
edly the cleanroom business. This parison: In order to ascend from the Earth into space, spacecraft
mostly-veiled, though indispensable All proceeds from the book are used must be sped up to 11,186 metres per second (40,270 kilometres
technique, is a pre-requisite for for social projects. per hour). So, it’s a lot more energy-efficient to travel from the
Lunar Map by Giovanni
PHOTO: WIKIPEDIA
modern research and production Moon into space.
Domenico Cassini, 1679,
purposes. This multibillion-dollar But the low gravitational pull doesn’t just have advantages … It’s Professor of Astronomy in
industry is the basis for driverless also the reason why Luna can’t have an atmosphere. Spacemen’s Bologna and Director of the Paris
cars, high-resolution screens and searches for a blue sky have been in vain. Only traces of hydro- Observatory.
state-of-the-art space exploration. www.frankduvernell.com
CLEANROOM FUTURE 2 | 19 21You can also read
