26 The non -specific bacterial species that were discovered in the NASA cleaning room

In traveling to space, it can often be the smallest things that destroys a great task. This is why attention to the details is the key, especially inside a cleaning room where the spacecraft is placed together and prepares for its strict journey across the universe. But even those rooms undergoing accurately cannot remove some microorganisms. In fact, some bacteria flourish in the strict environment.

A group of scientists in the NASA jet laboratory, as well as other institutes in India and Saudi Arabia, discovered 26 types of bacteria unknown in the cleaning room used to assemble the Phoenix spacecraft before its launch in August 2007. discoveryAnd recently published in Microbiome, highlighting the potential risks posed by very flexible microorganisms that can contaminate the space missions or planets they visit.

As for the study, the team of scientists has sequence 215 bacterial strains. Some were present before the Phoenix spacecraft arrived in its clean room on April 25, 2007, while others were formed during the collection and testing of the spacecraft, and after it was transferred to the launch platform to start its journey to Mars. Of the 215 strains, the team has set 53 breed belonging to 26 new species.

“Our study aims to understand the risk of moving the extremist party in space tasks and identifying microorganisms that may escape the harsh conditions of space,” said Alexander Rosado, a researcher at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. statement. “This effort is pivotal to monitor the risk of microbial pollution and protect against colonialism that is not intended to explore planets.”

NASA cleaners are harsh environments for life, with a temperature and moisture that carefully controls and air flow to maintain dust and bacteria. The type of microorganism that can live in a cleaning room may also be equipped to make them in space. Many of the newly identified microorganisms that were growing in the NASA cleaning room were especially flexible against pollution and radiation removal. Hardy bacteria carried a unique genetic defense system with features such as DNA repair, improved metabolism, and the ability to remove toxins from harmful molecules. These young men were what the Destiny’s child was singing with their success.

Aside from the highlight of the potential effect of these bacteria in space, the new discovery can also have applications on Earth. “Space travel provides an opportunity to study microorganisms that have relevant stress -resistant genes,” Junia Schultz, a post -doctoral colleague at Kaust and the author of the first author of the study. “The genes specified in these newly discovered bacterial types can be designed for applications in medicine, food preservation, and other industries.”

NASA, apparently, you may also need to return to the drawing panel when it comes to the design of the cleaning room.