"Bacteria … From space … It can't be!" Russian cosmonauts have discovered bacteria living on the outer surface of the International Space Station (ISS). Since at the time this manned satellite was launched back in 1998, there were no bacteria on the ISS hull, this is especially strange.
Samples from the surface of the hull were taken using cotton swabs during an expedition as part of the Russian space research program. Samples were collected from those parts of the station where waste fuel was released during engine operation.
After the samples were taken back to Earth, scientists returned home to find something very curious. “It turned out that these tampons contain bacteria that were not present during the launch of the ISS module,” Russian cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov told the TASS news agency on Monday.
“In other words, they came from outer space and settled on the outer surface of the station's hull. They are currently being studied. So far it seems to us that these bacteria do not pose any danger,”he added.
The origin of the detected microorganisms has not yet received final confirmation, but experts believe it is unlikely that these are actually some kind of extraterrestrial bacteria. The TASS agency also notes that these bacteria were most likely introduced to the ISS on the surface of a computer tablet belonging to the crew members, or some other equipment contaminated with terrestrial microorganisms.
However, while not entirely extraterrestrial life, it cannot be denied that the find is eminently interesting. The astronauts also showed that terrestrial bacteria managed to survive on the outside of the space station, despite the fact that for several years they were in the vacuum of space, cruising at an altitude of 435 kilometers in low Earth orbit.
It should also be recalled that temperatures on the outer surface of the space station are subject to extreme fluctuations. It can vary from 121 ° C on the sunny side to -157 ° C on the shady side of the station. So, whatever the origin of these bacteria, they had to make a hell of a trip.
Scientists have long been interested in everything related to bacteria and space. Just a month ago, an international team of researchers released the results of a study in which scientists sent cultures of E. coli Escherichia coli, a bacteria found in feces that form as a result of food poisoning, to the International Space Station. Much to their surprise, they found that Escherichia coli bacteria are much more resistant to antibiotics in space than in Earth's atmosphere. They even managed to figure out how and why this strange phenomenon occurs.
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