Scientists prove that human intestinal bacteria can survive a journey to space without us

Space travel is not weak. Space pioneers direct movement, confusion, and cardiovascular stress – before they reach orbit. Fortunately, the bacteria that live inside us are more flexible. A new study showed that the intestinal bacteria necessary for human health can survive the stress of its launch in space on a missile, the smaller gravitational environment, and the re -access to the Earth’s atmosphere.

A group of scientists in Australia launched the bacillus subtilis bacteria, which is a gram -positive bacteria that lives in our intestinal areas, on the edge of the space to find out how the microbes were going. Upon examination after bacteria returned to Earth, scientists found that microbes had not experienced any change in their ability to grow and that their structure remained intact.

Detailed results in a Ticket Publish MicroGRAVITY NPJ. The work indicates that the bacteria will likely work as needed within the courage of any human being on their way to Mars – the huge information of the health of the astronaut. But it also indicates that the human pollution that is led by a person with terrestrial bacteria may be inevitable.

Bacteria that start from space

Previous experiments on the International Space Station (ISS) showed this Certain types of bacteria can continue in space. However, many research has not been conducted on the effects of missile launch and re -entering the survival rates of human intestinal bacteria.

In order to put the bacteria on the test, the researchers fill germs on a sound missile and fired it at a height of about 160 miles (260 km) above the surface of the earth. During the second stage, the missile witnessed a maximum acceleration of 13 g (or 13 times the strength of gravity).

Once it reaches its desired height, the researchers began a short period of weight that lasted for about six minutes with the closure of the main engine. After that, the missile started descending to the ground, where the forces slowed up to 30 grams during the rotation of 220 times per second.

After the arduous journey, the researchers examined bacteria to see how they believed in firing missiles and re -entering. Surprisingly, the bacteria have not shown any change in their structure, and the maximum forces did not affect their ability to grow.

“Our research has shown an important type of bacteria for our health,” said Elena Evanova, a professor at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Australia. statement. “Our understanding of the effects of space lighting in the long run on the microorganisms that live in our bodies and remain in good health. This means that we can design better life support systems for astronauts to keep them healthy during long tasks.”

However, the idea of ​​bacteria that remain and flourish on its way to the red planet, however, has not always been enthusiastic. Separate results Ticket It was published last year, which warned of bacteria not only the ability to survive on a trip to Mars, but also feel at home in Mars soil. Since space agencies are planning human missions to Mars, there is increasing concern that these tasks can contaminate the Mars environment with earthly microbes. This may lead to wrong discoveries of life on the planet, but it may also pose an immediate danger to the astronauts themselves – or in reality, that is, a life that may be on Mars in the first place.