Bacteria, fungi, algae, viruses, and archaea have deceptively pivotal roles on Earth, which has driven experts to try sending them to space. They are critical for natural processes like photosynthesis and oxygen cycles, and essential for human bodies to function. So, what purpose could they have beyond the planet’s atmosphere? Discover their applications and the survival mechanisms that make microbes so powerful, even beyond Earth.
The journey of microbes to space
Microbial studies have been a priority for researchers because of how much an unintentional organism might reveal.
Microbial hitchhiking
Every mission undergoes strict sanitization to ensure astronauts and crew are safe from microbes, especially since experts still have more to learn about how these organisms interact in space. Eliminating each one is challenging because they are invisible to the naked eye. They find homes in the astronauts’ food, clothes, and more.
For decades, residents of the International Space Station have tested any microbe that has managed to hitch a ride. One of the first tests was in 1968, where experts on the Gemini XII mission tested the strength of bacteriophage T1 and fungal spores. They used aluminum to shield them from radiation, where they had a high survival rate.
Adaptable responses
The research discovered that many microbes try to adapt. Since they are out of their usual element, they rewire their genes to develop antimicrobial resistance. This physiological phenomenon is why scientists need to track microbial activity in real-time. Otherwise, they could miss a key part of the shift. Any change could impact anyone on board, including the safety of their air and interactivity with surfaces.
Experts are also concerned with finding out what their potential is. Depending on the outcomes, they may need to develop mitigation strategies to promise a safe environment without pathogenicity. This is such a high priority that researchers on the Gemini XII mission would repeatedly swab surfaces and send samples back to Earth for analysis.
It was time-consuming and tedious, and recent advancements have permitted DNA sequencing and Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) utilization on board — a monumental step in expediting microbial understanding.
Microscopic oversight
Now, the International Space Station can have microbial laboratories for constant surveillance. Discovering how these organisms survive could educate humanity about how they work on Earth. Consider how it could boost hospital cleanliness or aid food preservation.
It could also reduce water scarcity worldwide, as only 1% of the planet’s water is safe to drink. Discovering more ways to treat reserves and understand human health would be industry-altering. It would also reveal potential ways to survive the brutality of space.
Microbial survival mechanisms in space
Space’s harsh environments tout extreme temperatures, vacuums, and intense radiation. However, microbes react instead of perish. Researchers have tested their responses in space and on Earth in simulations. These are some of the most well-analyzed defensive strategies they have.
Biofilm formation
Biofilms shield microbes from many of space’s harmful influences while strengthening their ability to cycle nutrients. Microgravity promotes increased cell clumping in some yeast species to better resist the environment. They do this by enhancing the metabolic qualities of amino acids.
While the biofilm protects the microbes, it has a harmful effect on humans and the integrity of the spacecraft. It could lead to corrosion, informing engineers to make biofilm-resistant components for future designs.
Membrane fluidity
Most microbial tests have microgravity as a main contributor to physiological changes because scientists perform experiments in controlled areas on spacecraft. Escherichia coli has been found to alter its membrane fluidity in these conditions, while other species tested did not. The change could explain why some develop drug-resistant qualities.
Radiation-induced mutations
Alongside microgravity, radiation exposure is the other influence that is most present for microbial physiological testing. Some proteins and acids absorb radiation and mutate as a result, while others change merely by exposure to the radicals. It causes DNA to break, with some microbes able to heal it – leading to mutations. Other species, like Saccharomyces cerevisiae, forgo DNA repairs and rearrange genomes instead. Even though the microbes experience damage, they persist.
Desiccation resistance
Microbes have demonstrated an ability to survive despite minimal or no access to moisture. The Aspergillus niger fungus proved this by withstanding intense heat and radiation during the Microbes in Atmosphere for Radiation, Survival and Biological Outcomes Experiment (MARSBOx). It has pigmentation in its membranes that protect it. The salt-resistant Salinisphaera shabanensis also survived, letting experts know that briny planets could have life.
Implications for astrobiology
The applications of these findings vary, though they will mostly advance industries on Earth. Finding what makes a microbe drug-resistant could make pharmaceuticals more effective and save lives. Learning how they absorb more nutrients could change how nutrition experts reimagine food packaging.
Alternatively, astrobiologists could see these adaptive behaviors in extremophilic microbes as an insight into how other species could survive in space. This encourages ideas like the Panspermia hypothesis, suggesting life will spread throughout the universe — potentially through microorganisms.
A single hitchhiker with immense resilience may soar to unknown lands. Though the existence of extraterrestrial beings is one of the most prominent debates in astronomical discourse, it is irrefutable that uncovering qualities like DNA healing and radiation resistance could imply other life could survive in environments unsafe for humans.
If the hypothesis is proven in the future, it could have severe implications for other planets. Cross-contamination should be a concern in the back of researchers’ minds. While it would be groundbreaking to see a microbial species survive for years on a distant planet, it could permanently change its biological composition and threaten potential life there.
Studies and findings for microbes in space
There are projects underway to find microbial life on other planets, like Mars, and test how interactivity could look if exposed to Earth-based life forms. Biosphere preservation is critical, and it is equally essential to stop Martian microbial life — if it exists — from mixing with Earth variants or traveling back on a spacecraft.
The study sets an essential precedent for future planetary exploration because it prioritizes the survival of all species equally. Given Mars’s dusty and windy environment, contamination likelihoods are high.
It is critical to find out as much as possible because the disadvantages could outweigh the benefits if humans are not careful. The health implications for spacecraft residents and their microbiomes could be dire.
Several other key experiments have happened in the last several years. One is the Microgravity Investigation of Cement Solidification. It is one of many studies leveraging microbial findings to benefit the industry, specifically by making it less carbon-intensive and expensive.
The goal is to promote microbial activity in microgravity conditions to change cement’s properties. Making it better at thermal management or self-healing could save the environment from excess cement processing.
Even though humans are desperately trying to apply findings to their respective sectors, microbial behavior is still largely misunderstood. Everything from gene expression to growth patterns in extreme environments still leaves experts with countless questions. Continued exploration of these factors has even led to species discovery, as the ISS’s unique pressures increased the visibility of microbial genomes.
Microbial contributions to space exploration
How could microbial discoveries advance humanity’s perception of space? As humans spend more extended periods in space, novel biotechnology applications could help craft a more familiar lifestyle, regardless of how far they are from Earth. Fostering productive and resilient microbes could cause space communities to flourish.
A partnership between NASA and Oregon State University College has discovered this. They sent microbes into space to see how they grow. These patterns could benefit groundwater restoration, agricultural sciences, and water treatment efforts. If these microbes can remove contaminants from these sources, it could be helpful in space. Astronauts could use them for waste management and recycling for outer space residences.
It could also encourage bioremediation on Earth. Removing pollutants from the atmosphere could help with reducing the impacts of the climate crisis. It could also heal the atmosphere by lowering the emissions produced by damaged environments. Unveiling which microbes initiate bioremediation processes under specific conditions could unleash more adept species at taking care of hard-to-manage contaminants.
These qualities could also allow people to have garden beds on Mars. Sustainable food systems are possible with these microbes because they could remove heavy metals common in Martian soils, like cadmium and arsenic. Researchers in space could have controlled and monitored soil patches to prevent cross-contamination and have greater access to soil for longer stays.
If microbes can alter their DNA, astrobiologists might be able to engineer some species for even more specific functions, like regulating pH or facilitating soil temperatures. They could remain productive on long missions, reducing stress, and scarcity mentalities that crews must bear.
Microorganisms in the vastness of space
Microbes have been on some of the most intense and lengthy journeys in history. They have made it to the International Space Station and beyond, expanding experts’ perceptions of what they are capable of. Their unique survival mechanisms are a marvel and a concern, stretching what scientists believed was possible from a single cell.
Research must continue, because translating these survival techniques into medical and safety applications could keep humans safer. It could also tell astrobiologists more about space’s secrets.
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