A Systems Engineering Approach to Quantitative Comparison of Molecular Instruments for Use on the International Space Station

The presence of microorganisms on the International Space Station (ISS) poses a threat to the health and safety of the ISS crew. Currently the ISS utilizes culture-based methods to detect and identify microorganisms. These methods are out dated and time-consuming. Molecular methods can deliver accurate results and require less processing time. This article details an approach to determine which molecular methods instrument most closely meets the Microbial Monitoring System (MMS) requirements for use on the ISS. We utilize the decision-theoretic Analytical Hierarchy Process and Quality Function Deployment while aligning the systems requirements vs. instrument capabilities in a Pugh Matrix to perform a quantitative assessment of six candidate systems, with the analysis yielding a single recommended instrument for use on the ISS. We demonstrate our techniques to be very effective for selection of the best instrument—the recommended system is currently under consideration for use on the ISS.