Experimenting in Space!

NASA’s Crew-12 and SpaceX’s mission took off on February 13th 2026, and on board were Silson’s silicon nitride membranes!

As part of the Epsilon mission, ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot will take part in nearly 200 scientific and technological experiments on the ISS – Silson’s membranes are involved in the MATISS experiment.

Numerous experiments in the mission are studying different strategies aimed at limiting surface biocontamination, a major challenge for long-duration manned flights in order to preserve the health and time of astronauts. In the MATISS experiment conducted by ENS Lyon, CNES, and CNRS, scientists are analysing contamination spreading through the air in the form of bioaerosols. After showing that the surfaces of the Columbus module cabin are generally kept clean, while revealing significant cumulative biocontamination over the long term and the effect of certain surface treatments, MATISS-4 aims to characterize in greater detail the morphology, composition, and immediate environment of micrometric deposits on model surfaces. These deposits will be analyzed on Silson’s silicon surfaces, using X-ray nanoimaging at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble, which offers the best elemental and spatial sensitivities currently available.

This experiment was developed in collaboration with CNES / CADMOS by Laurence Lemelle (ENS de Lyon / CNRS) and will be conducted at the European Synchrotron. Huge thanks to Laurence for facilitating this fantastic collaboration!