Pylote: A French Antimicrobial Technology on its way to Mars

Prevention of environmental contamination and infections: A green technological innovation presented at ICES 2025

At the 54th edition of the International Conference on Environmental Systems (ICES 2025) in Prague, Pylote and CNES presented the results of the collaborative SpaceshipFR project.

The project focuses on integrating Pylote's antimicrobial technology into the surfaces of space habitats.

A concrete breakthrough in addressing the health challenges of future long-duration missions to the Moon and Mars.

Durable and Safe Antimicrobial Surfaces

The study, published on the ICES website, demonstrated the effectiveness of Pylote's antimicrobial technology under conditions simulating the space environment. The treated surfaces showed a significant reduction in the bacterial load of pathogens relevant to crewed spaceflight, while withstanding over 1,300 cleaning cycles without performance loss.

Another important finding was that the absence of toxicity was validated, confirming the safety of this innovation for astronauts, as well as for medical or industrial applications on Earth.

Green and Biofunctional Technology

Pylote's innovation is based on green technology, utilizing mineral microspheres that are integrated directly into coatings and materials. This unique approach creates surfaces that autonomously maintain a high level of hygiene 24/7, capable of neutralizing bacteria, viruses, and spores without human intervention.

Each surface with Pylote technology becomes a permanent barrier, offering continuous protection, without release, against microbial contamination and transmission.

From Space to Prevention on Earth: Practical Applications

While this innovation is demonstrated and validated for extreme space environments, it already has applications on Earth.

In hospitals, private clinics, and nursing homes, as well as transportation, laboratories, and manufacturing industries. Antimicrobial surfaces and coatings with Pylote technology enhance hygiene and limit infection risks. One technology serving ONE health on Earth and in Space.

View the Complete Study on Pylote Antimicrobial Surfaces

Co-authored by Katia Iskandar, Delphine Faye, Christine Roques, Grégory Navarro, and Loïc Marchin, the study "Assessing the Efficacy, Robustness and Safety of Spacecraft Surfaces Incorporating Pylote SAS Mineral Oxide Antimicrobial Technology" presents detailed results of tests conducted on Pylote antimicrobial surfaces under conditions simulating the space environment. The abstract and the published study are available here.

To conquer tomorrow's Space, we will need protective, durable, and intelligent surfaces. 

With Pylote, this conquest has already begun.

The technology is on its way to Mars.