Microbes are everywhere, and they are in and on us. Wherever we go, we bring these microbes with us. This can become an issue in space travel.
“We can’t sterilize everything we send into space, and don’t want to, but we do a lot to limit potential pathogens from making their way to the station,” says NASA microbiologist Sarah Wallace, Ph.D. “At launch, the cargo, food, vehicles, and crew members each have their own microbiome, or suite of microbes. When everything gets to the station, these microbiomes become part of the space station microbiome.”
“She calls the station’s water processing system “a phenomenal piece of engineering” that produces water much cleaner than most of us drink on Earth. In addition, the station itself is remarkably clean thanks to HEPA filters for the air and housekeeping practices for surfaces. “What microbes we see are really what we’d see if we looked at your home. In fact, we’ve done several studies comparing the station to a typical home and it is similar but usually cleaner,” she adds.”
“For the first time ever, we identified unknown microbes collected and cultured off Earth,” says Wallace. “We followed that up with the swab-to-sequencer, which lets us move away from culturing completely. We can swab a surface and sequence whatever is there.”
The next time you’re on a plane, think about all the little passengers you’re bringing with you…a little creepy, but true.
Source
NASA. Station Science 101: Microbiology. October, 2023. https://www.nasa.gov/missions/station/microbiology-101-where-people-go-microbes-follow/
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Love this!! Thank you for a “far out” look at microbes!