Unfortunately, we’ve yet to discover life beyond our lonely planet, however, it seems as though theInternational Space Stationorbiting hundreds of miles above Earth has become quite the, well, petri dish of goop. A series of recent reports detail the uniquemicrobiomegrowing not only inside but also on the exterior of the laboratory and this orbiting testing ground isn’t nearly as pristine as one would imagine, to say the least.
Lacking many of the comforts we take for granted on Earth, basic hygiene is slightly more arduous on the space station. When they’re not performing grueling extravehicular missions, astronauts spend the rest of their live-long daysshoweringin waterreclaimed from breath and sweat, drinking recycled urine, and — seeing as fresh laundry is delivered in shipments — wearing the same clothes (including the unmentionables) for days on end. An astronaut who shalt not be namedonce wrotethat he only changed his underwear about once every four days and wore the same pair of spaceshortsfor months while in orbit.
Recently, microbiologists with the University of California, Davis used more than adozen swab samplesfrom the space station to juxtapose this ecosystem alongside microbes found in a standard household here on Earth. In total, the team identifiedmore than 12,000(mostly innocuous) species of microbes. This was substantially more “species-rich” than the microbiologists anticipated, however, the results were remarkable for other reasons as well.
The microbes pinpointed in the research didn’t perfectly match with organisms typically found in a terrestrial home or on an earthbound person’s skin. Furthermore, these microbes were overall more similar to ones found on household surfaces than on our skin. As noted by the study authors: “Unlike the ISS, homes on Earth are exposed to a variety of sources of microbes, including the outdoor air, tracked-in soil, plants, pets, and human inhabitants.”
But these microscopic organisms aren’t limited to the interior of the space station by any means. Just last month, Russian astronaut Anton Shkaplerovfamously statedcosmonauts had collected bacteria along the exterior of the space station, and went so far as toclaimthese “alien” microbes had come “from outer space.” This wasn’t the first or last seemingly outlandish claim made by Russian astronauts about microbes on the exterior of the space station. In2014, cosmonauts claimed to have identifiedplanktonon exterior space station windows. NASA wasn’t initially receptive to either of these claims with a NASA spokespersonstating, “I don’t know where all the sea plankton talk is coming from.”
While we still haven’t verified any real-worldAndromeda Strainin orbit,over the years a regular smorgasbord of microscopic creatures have been identified not only surviving but thriving in the unforgiving vacuum of space. So-called “Water Bears” orTardigradeshave lived on the outside of the space station for10 dayseven while experiencing more than100 timesthe lethal radiation dose a human being could muster. But how can we utilize this data in the interim?
It has been well documented at this point in time, thatastronauts who have spent extended periodsonboard the space station havelowered immune functions. NASA takes extremeprecautionstoprevent contaminationof not only the space station but also our solar system, however, the ability to study this inadvertent biome in orbit could be beneficial in identifying potentially dangerous pathogens before we send humans onextended missionsdeeper into the solar system.
