None of these items are completely sterile. Methylorubrum rhodesianum was the bacterium found that was already known to science. The other three had never previously been identified, but genetic and taxonomic analysis suggests they are related to Methylobacterium indicum , a bacterium sometimes found on rice grains. However, Moissl-Eichinger cautioned against getting too excited about the discovery. I am sure there are still hundreds or even thousands of less characterised, maybe even unknown, microorganisms aboard the ISS.
Follow Elizabeth Howell on Twitter howellspace. Follow us on Twitter Spacedotcom and on Facebook. Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community space. Elizabeth Howell is a contributing writer for Space. She is the author or co-author of several books on space exploration. Elizabeth holds a Ph. Any life-forms that somehow find themselves in the void soon die. Unless they band together.
As small communities, new research shows, some bacteria can withstand that harsh environment. Balls of Deinococcus bacteria as thin as five sheets of paper were placed on the outside of the International Space Station. They stayed there for three years. Microbes in the heart of those balls survived. Researchers described their finding August 26 in Frontiers in Microbiology. Such microbial groups might be able to drift among planets. This could spread life through the universe. This is a concept known as panspermia.
It was known that microbes could survive inside artificial meteorites. But this is the first evidence microbes can survive this long unprotected, says Margaret Cramm. Cramm is a microbiologist at the University of Calgary in Canada who did not take part in the study.
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