Samples of Bacillus pumilus SAFR-032, an endospore-forming bacterial strain, were externally mounted on ISS in the EXPOSE facility and with full UV exposure. While nearly all the bacterial spores were […]
Microgravity
Posted inArtemis & Lunar Exploration, Microbiology & Virology, Microgravity, Press Release, Space Agriculture, Space Stations
Researchers Put Space Garden Microbes Under the Microscope
When people and equipment travel to the International Space Station, microbes like bacteria and fungi also come along for the ride. While some are harmless or even beneficial, some hitchhiking […]
Posted inMicrogravity
Cells' Replication Of DNA Is More 'Error-prone' In Microgravity
On 22 May 2019, scientists from Queen’s University boarded a modified Falcon 20 aircraft at Ottawa airport. Scheduled was a ‘vomit comet’ flight, where the plane repeatedly climbs to 8km […]
Posted inExtremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Microgravity, Press Release, Space Stations, Tardigrades
Working With Tardigrades On The International Space Station
Thomas Pesquet: It’s time for lunch, water bears! I took my turn feeding the tardigrades. Fun fact: they have a two-week reproduction cycle, so we are now hosting three generations […]
Posted inAstropharmacy / Biotechnology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Commercial & Private Sector, Microbiology & Virology, Microgravity, Press Release, Space Life Science, Space Stations
Biomining Vanadium Aboard The International Space Station
For centuries, humans have mined materials to build the tools we use every day, from batteries and cell phones to airplanes and refrigerators. While the process of obtaining these important […]
Posted inExtremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Microgravity, Press Release, Space Life Science, Space Stations, Tardigrades
Astronauts Initiate Tardigrade Experiment on ISS
On July 13, 2021, the Cell Science-04 (CS-04) mission’s first science operation was successfully conducted onboard the ISS. The on-orbit activities included setup of the Life Sciences Glovebox and the […]
Posted inExtremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Microgravity, Press Release, Space Life Science, Space Stations, Tardigrades
Using Tardigrades to Identify Biological Countermeasures to Stress during Multigenerational Spaceflight
For most organisms, the stresses associated with spaceflight cause a variety of detrimental health effects. To foster a safe and productive long-term human presence in space, therapies and countermeasures to […]
Posted inAstropharmacy / Biotechnology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Comets and Asteroids, Commercial & Private Sector, Microbiology & Virology, Microgravity, Missions & Hardware, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Press Release, Space Life Science, Space Stations
BioAsteroid Payload On Orbit
Inside one of the containers of this 40-cm-across miniature laboratory in orbit, a battle is set to start between asteroid-like fragments and rock-hungry microbes, to probe their use for space […]
Posted inAstropharmacy / Biotechnology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Comets and Asteroids, Commercial & Private Sector, Meteorites & Asteroids, Microbiology & Virology, Microgravity, Missions & Hardware, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Press Release, Space Life Science, Space Stations
Microbes To Demonstrate Biomining Of Asteroid Material Aboard The Space Station
As humanity moves closer to the possibility of living and working millions of miles from Earth on planets like Mars, scientists are looking beyond our planet at how to acquire […]
Posted inAstropharmacy / Biotechnology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microgravity, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Press Release, Space Life Science, Space Stations
A 'Hubble Space Telescope' To Study Multiple Genome Sequences
A new tool that simultaneously compares 1.4 million genetic sequences can classify how species are related to each other at far larger scales than previously possible. Described today in Nature […]