Just like on Earth, there is a strong population of bacteria and fungi on the International Space Station (ISS), according to a study that catalogs its exact composition. The study, published in the Microbiome Journal, found that samples from an air filter and a vacuum bag from the space station had opportunistic bacterial pathogens that are mostly safe on Earth but can lead to infections that result in inflammation or skin irritation. The researchers found that the human skin-associated bacteria Corynebacterium and Propionibacterium (Actinobacteria), but not Staphylococcus, occur more at the station than in clean rooms on earth.
‘Comprehensive catalog’ of fungi, bacteria
NASA scientists have observed that similar bacteria occur in everyday Earth environments such as officers, hymns, and hospitals, and so the space station is similar to these other “built environments” visited by humans. The research was necessary to understand the nature of the communities of microbes, the microbiome, in the space station to manage the astronaut’s health and maintenance of equipment. However, to prevent fatal infections from erupting, astronauts reduce the possibility by quarantine periods before their mission.
READ: ‘Tie-die Appearance’: NASA shares ‘colorful’ images of Morocco’s Anti-Atlas Mountains
Kasthuri Venkateswaran, a senior research scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and a co-author of the article, said: ‘Specific microbes in indoor spaces on Earth have been shown to affect human health. It is even more important for astronauts during spaceflight, because they have changed immunity and do not have access to the sophisticated medical interventions available on earth ”.
“In view of possible future long-term missions, it is important to identify the types of micro – organisms that may accumulate in the unique, closed spaceships associated with spaceflight, how long they survive and their impact on human health and spacecraft infrastructure, “added Venkateswaran. .
READ: NASA inquires about ‘meteorite’ in Australia, it turns out to be ‘interesting’ project
Furthermore, the research said that the study is the first ‘comprehensive catalog’ of the fungi and bacteria found on surfaces in a closed space system, such as the ISS. The research also said that it could eventually lead to the development of safety measures for astronauts during spacecraft, although the rest for spacecraft is unclear at this time. It is noteworthy that the astronauts collected the samples during three flights of 14 months, a period of time that allowed the researchers to see how the microbial and fungal populations change over places and over time.
READ: NASA shares beautiful ‘pulsar SXP 1062’ images embedded in Supernova remnant
READ: Elon Musk unveils ambitious plans to get humans to Mars seven years before NASA