CAMDLES: CFD-DEM Simulation of Microbial Communities in Spaceflight and Artificial Microgravity

This research paper introduces an advanced computer program called "CAMDLES," which helps scientists understand how tiny living things, like bacteria that can be found in spacecrafts or on planets with less gravity than Earth's (microgravity), behave and grow. The study shows the importance of this tool because it lets researchers predict changes these microbes might undergo when they are not near us here on Earth-changes which could affect astronaut health, how we make food in space or use resources directly there without bringing them back to our planet first (in situ resource utilization). The program works by using complex math and computer simulations that take into account the unique conditions of microgravity. This is important because even small differences can lead bacteria to act differently, which might make astronauts sick or affect how we grow food in space for longer trips away from Earth (bioregenerative life support). The researchers created CAMDLES by building upon existing software that already understands these complex systems.

**Title: Ecosystem Simulation (CAMDLES): Modeling Biological Flows, Growth, and Mass Transfer in Artificial Microgravity Devices for Space Exploration Applications** The research paper presents the development of CAMDLES-an extension to CFDEM®Coupling that models biological flows, growth, and mass transfer within microgravity-simulated environments. This tool is designed specifically to investigate how alterations in fluid dynamics due to artificially induced microgravity conditions affect various aspects of microbial life aboard spacecrafts or habitats like the International Space Station (ISS). **Methodology:** CAMDLES was developed as an open-source software tool, with its source code distributed under GNU Public License. It extends CFDEM®Coupling-a well-established computational fluid dynamics package written in C++ language that simulates the behavior of fluids and their interaction with solid structures within a defined environment (e.g., pipelines).