On May 11, a sealed capsule containing fungi and bacteria fell from the sky and splashed down in the Pacific Ocean. Microbiologist Kasthuri Venkateswaran could hardly wait to see what […]
Microgravity
Posted inNASA Astrobiology Program, People Of Astrobiology, Plant Biology, Space Life Science
Thora Halstead, Space Biologist
Keith’s note: When I first came to Washington in 1986 I had the extreme pleasure of working with Thora at NASA Headquarters. Thora learned her craft from the very first […]
Posted inExtremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Press Release, Space Stations
Spacewalk Marks End of ESA's Exposed Space Chemistry Experiment
ESA’s Expose facility was retrieved today from outside the International Space Station by cosmonauts Yuri Malenchenko and Sergei Volkov, who were completing a spacewalk to place new experiments on the […]
Posted inExtremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Mars, Press Release, Space Stations
Fungi Survive Martian Conditions on the International Space Station
The McMurdo Dry Valleys, located in the Antarctic Victoria Land, are considered to be the most similar earthly equivalent to Mars. They make up one of the driest and most […]
Posted inGenomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Gravitational Biology, Microgravity
Fruit Fly Immunity Fails with Fungus After Spaceflight
In a study published in PLOS ONE, researchers led by Deborah Kimbrell, Ph.D., at UC Davis and their collaborators, studied how microorganisms may alter fruit flies’ immunity in space and […]