Unknown Bacteria Found In Space Could Help Astronauts Grow Food In Zero Gravity
According to scientists, the bacteria might have entered the pristine ISS through the plant-growing experiments that the astronauts have been conducting for a while.
Humans are striving real hard to make life in space as close as the one on our planet, despite several challenges that come along the way, to create a future for space exploration. One of the ways this happens is through experiments conducted on the International Space Station.
Wikipedia
And now scientists are of the belief that three different kinds of bacteria which were seen growing on the International Space Station could help them develop novel ways to grow food on Mars and in space.
Published in the journal Frontiers in Microbiology, astronauts had collected the four (then unknown) strains of bacteria on the ISS in the year 2011, 2015 and 2016 as a part of an ongoing surveillance program that asked astronauts to keep an eye out at 8 specific sites for bacterial growth.
This is something that has been in practice for a few years now with hundreds of samples sent back to Earth. However, the newly discovered strains of bacteria are actually from a family dubbed Methylobacteriaceae that¡¯s also commonly found in freshwater and soil. It is known to aid a plant¡¯s growth while helping it deal with nitrogen and take care of pathogens that could harm it.
Bacteria to help plants grow in space
According to scientists, the bacteria might have entered the pristine ISS through the plant-growing experiments that the astronauts have been conducting for a while. Researchers believe that these strains could aid space farming as they¡¯re strong enough to withstand extreme conditions and don¡¯t demand much resources to thrive.
Study authors Kasthuri Venkateswaran and Nitin K. Singh stated that these bacterias could possess useful genetic determinants that could help astronauts grow their food on long-duration space missions, "To grow plants in extreme places where resources are minimal, isolation of novel microbes that help to promote plant growth under stressful conditions is essential. Needless to say, the ISS is a cleanly-maintained extreme environment. Crew safety is the number 1 priority and hence understanding human/plant pathogens are important, but beneficial microbes like this novel Methylobacterium ajmalii are also needed."
Reuters
Scientists suggest the development of a special device that could allow astronauts on the ISS to learn about the traits of the bacteria as opposed to bringing it back to Earth to further study, ¡°Instead of bringing samples back to Earth for analyses, we need an integrated microbial monitoring system that collects, process, and analyzes samples in space using molecular technologies. This miniaturized 'omics in space' technology ¡ª a biosensor development ¡ª will help NASA and other space-faring nations achieve safe and sustainable space exploration for long periods of time.¡±
