astronaut on the International Space Station ( ISS ) have successfully identifiedmicrobes in spacefor the first time , opening the door to exciting new inquiry in orbit .

The achievement took place in 2017 , thanks to a project called Genes in Space-3 . Published inScientific Reports , researchers have described how they were able-bodied to sequence sample on the ISS .

“ These finding illustrate the potential for sequence applications including disease diagnosis , environmental monitoring , and elucidating the molecular basis for how organism respond to spaceflight , ” the squad compose in their paper .

unexampled microbes can spring up on the ISS in areas that become contaminate , withfungi or biomaterialsometimes see growing . To handle with these outbreak , disinfectants can be used , but the squad need to know what the bug are in rescript to handle them .

That becomes more of a problem as we move further away from Earth orbit to destinations like the Moon and Mars , where resupply missions are less readily available .

So in a series of experiments last class , NASA spaceman Peggy Whitson work on the ISS with a team in Houston to practice identifying microbes on the place . She collected samples by press petri collection plate against polluted region , and then placed them in a chamber jazz as the Microgravity Science Glovebox ( MSG ) .

Here she transferred cells from growing bacterial colonies on the plate into exam tube . The DNA of the organisms was then keep apart , and a twist called the MinION was used to sequence the desoxyribonucleic acid . broadcast this data point to the land , the team were able to act upon out what organism the DNA belonged to .

“ Right out , we saw one micro-organism pop up , and then a second one , and they were things that we find all the time on the space post , ” Sarah Wallace from NASA ’s Johnson Space Center , the survey ’s lead source , said in astatement .

To validate the results , the samples were place back to Earth to repeat the tests . These affirm the findings made by Whitson , proving that she had identified unknown bug in space for the first time .

The results could be hugely beneficial to future missions like to the Moon and Mars . Being able to identify what microbes are growing in a spacecraft can help astronauts keep their environment clean , and prepare for any problem triggered by disease or other infection .