In a recent study released in Microbiome, a team of scientists led by NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory carried out a five-year first-of-its-kind study examining the microbiome (ecological profile) of the International Spaceport Station (ISS). The function of the study was to attend to “the introduction and proliferation of potentially hazardous bacteria into the microbial communities of piloted spaceflight and how this could impact human health”, according to the paper.
” Although our survey found several opportunistic microorganisms, we concluded that the ISS is a safe environment for the astronauts,” said Dr. Crystal Jaing, who is a biologist at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), and a co-author on the study. “We have discovered that the microbiome of the ISS surface areas is steady which the majority of the microbiome is connected with human skin.”
The investigation incorporated two major studies, Microbial Tracking (MT) -1 and MT-2, covering from 2015 to 2020. MT-1 was a 14-month research study analyzing microbial neighborhoods from 8 surfaces on the ISS throughout 3 astronaut missions, while MT-2 expanded upon MT-1 by taking a look at the very same surface areas over another 14-month duration utilizing four subsequent astronaut flights. Samples were gathered with sterilized wipes by resident astronauts over the course of both research studies.
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MT-1 was a 14-month research study analyzing microbial neighborhoods from eight surfaces on the ISS over the course of 3 astronaut missions, while MT-2 expanded upon MT-1 by taking a look at the same surfaces over another 14-month duration using four subsequent astronaut flights.” Overall, the ISS surface area structure was exceptionally steady beyond a couple of small changes during our five-year research study,” said Dr. Jaing. The football field-sized ISS is currently house to seven astronauts from the United States, Russia, and Japan, which is the maximum number of astronauts the ISS can accommodate for long durations. Given that the first module of the ISS was released in 1998, 263 astronauts from 20 nations have actually checked out the ISS, as of October 2022.
The studys outcomes showed that 2 fungal and bacterial types, Staphylococcus sp. and Malassezia sp., were the most identified on the ISS. Neither of those organisms are harmful, and the general ISS surface area microbiome was monopolized by human skin organism associations.
” Overall, the ISS surface area structure was extremely stable beyond a couple of small changes throughout our five-year research study,” said Dr. Jaing. “Its a vibrant process, much like the body. The ISS antimicrobial resistance gene profiles also were stable in time, without any distinctions over the span of the MT-1 and MT-2 studies. This indicates that the ISS microbiome does not have any new antibiotic-resistant genes, which is safer for the astronauts.”
While this research study was conducted utilizing samples went back to Earth from the ISS, NASA can observe microbes on the ISS in genuine time and is likewise looking into actual time microbial monitoring on future spacecraft, too.
The football field-sized ISS is currently home to 7 astronauts from the United States, Russia, and Japan, which is the optimal variety of astronauts the ISS can accommodate for long period of time. Given that the first module of the ISS was introduced in 1998, 263 astronauts from 20 nations have gone to the ISS, since October 2022. While the United States and Russia use up the bulk of these numbers, individuals have actually likewise hung around on the ISS from Japan, Canada, Italy, France, Germany, Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, Great Britain, Israel, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Netherlands, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, and United Arab Emirates.
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Included Image: NASA astronaut Jack Fischer, who survived on the ISS from May to September 2017, is seen collecting samples for the research study by swabbing ISS surface areas. (Credit: NASA).
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