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[Intro]
Space is pretty inhospitable,
but humans have managed to maintain a permanent presence up there,
a few hundred kilometers above the threshold we call the edge of space,
since November 2000.
But we’ve also carried up some unwanted stowaways,
which can threaten the wellbeing of both the astronauts
and the station that separates them from the vacuum of space.
Microbes. Bacteria, fungi, and the like.
Thankfully, scientists have figured out
a few ways to keep things clean.
Now you may have heard that the human body is full of non-human cells.
Collectively, these microscopic critters make up your microbiota,
and they are basically in every corner of the human body.
So, astronauts provide a steady supply of microorganisms
to the space-based environments they inhabit,
no matter how clean they were before they got there.
Equipment and supplies are cleaned inside special rooms
to remove any unwanted travelers, but it’s never a 100% success rate.
So with each round of deliveries, be they new people or new experiments,
microbial invaders try to settle into their new home.
Life trying to find a way.
Over the years, scientists have closely studied the kinds of invisible life forms living
on the International Space Station.
Back in 2019, one team published a catalog of both bacterial and fungal species,
in part to figure where they were actually coming from.
Are humans the primary source, or insufficiently cleaned supplies?
Well, it turned out to be the former.
Members of the astronauts’ microbiota were migrating to various parts of the station...
...From the toilets to the panel next to that pretty cupola window they take pictures from.
The most prominent types of bacteria were Staphylococcus and Enterobacteria,
which are commonly found on your skin and up your nose, and in your gut, respectively.
Altogether, the exact combination of microbes living
on all of the surfaces inside the ISS is unique.
Like, it’s different from the ones in the air filters
or the prototype Martian habitation units humans
have been testing living inside down here on Earth.
Scientists have even discovered new species up there,
though that isn’t necessarily a huge revelation.
Because they also find new species on Earth all the time.
And these new ones aren’t that different from the Earthly ones.
But there is one way they are adapting.
Some species are evolving to tolerate living on certain surfaces that would ordinarily kill them.
So scientists are worried about the threats these microbes
could have to both astronauts and the International Space Station itself.
The human immune system doesn’t work the same in space as it does on Earth,
and many kinds of medical care aren’t readily available
when you are hurtling around the Earth hundreds of kilometers away,
at speeds of 8 kilometers a second.
The human microbiota naturally includes “bad” microbes as well as “good” ones,
but normally our bodies can handle them.
However, pathogens could take advantage of a decreased immune response in space.
Also, studies back on Earth have demonstrated
that patients admitted to the ICU are at higher risk of getting an infection
if the previous person in their bed had one.
So the enclosed space of the ISS could mean a later crew could get infected by a previous one.
There’s also the threat of how life in outer space affects antibiotic resistance.
But the results on this appear mixed.
And certain microbes can also be a problem for the ISS’s equipment too.
Back in 1998, cosmonauts on the MIR space station discovered microbes
were breaking down the rubber around the station’s windows,
as well as dissolving electrical cables by excreting some kind of acid.
And some of the species aboard the ISS
have been shown to corrode metals down here on Earth.
But how much they’re doing that up in space is still unknown.
There’s also the possibility that in sufficient quantities,
they could actually cause mechanical blockages, and make equipment overheat.
So astronauts need a way to get rid of all these unwanted microbes,
but they can’t go too hard on sanitizing because their microbiota is so crucial to their health.
It turns out that the cleaning methods are pretty similar to what you
or I have to do down here on the ground,
except for the whole floating debris and the completely closed air system thing…
Everything they touch gets hit with disinfectant wipes.
Handrails. Computers. And so forth.
The air filters have to get changed regularly, so colonies don’t grow there, either.~
They also vacuum a bunch.
That’s also to prevent dust from floating around and getting stuck
where it is not supposed to be, because in microgravity,
it doesn’t get collected in the carpet.
Down here on Earth, scientists are looking for new technology
to make the ISS less habitable to microbes, too.
Metals like silver and copper are already known for their antibacterial properties,
so making things like handles out of certain alloys could kill bugs
before they even get a fighting chance.
But not everything on the space station can be metallic,
so they’re testing polymers, too.
Ultimately, studying how these microbe colonies act differently from those on Earth
will help us prepare for longer missions to the Moon, to Mars, and beyond.
Also, studying how much these little bugs can tolerate
the extreme conditions of space
helps future missions that will require sanitizing the space crafts
to protect the distant world from being unintentionally inhabited
by earthlings like our little bugs.
Preventing the spread of germs to astronauts and to other corners of space.
So if you want to add “deep-clean the apartment”
to your habit list to keep germs at bay you should check today’s sponsor, Fabulous.
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like keeping a relatively germ-free International Space Station
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Which also helps us --so thanks.
[ OUTRO ]