Microbes essential for human health have proven resilient against the extreme forces of space travel, offering hope for maintaining astronaut well-being on future long-duration missions.
Researchers from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University in Australia sent spores of the bacterium Bacillus subtilis — a bacterium known to support the human immune system, gut health and blood circulation — in a 3D-printed microtube holder on a sounding rocket flight to test how they would fare under the stresses of launch, microgravity and reentry. Bacteria like B. subtilis will be vital for sustaining human life over decades — a necessity for establishing a presence beyond Earth, such as a future Mars colony.
