The Australian study showed an unexpected ability of Bacillus subtilis bacteria to withstand the harshest conditions of spaceflight, as it succeeded in withstanding the stages of launch and return through the Earth’s atmosphere, which puts scientists before new facts that have implications for the future of human space exploration.

In a unique experiment carried out by Australian researchers, the spores of these bacteria – which live naturally in the human intestine – were launched to the edge of space aboard a reconnaissance rocket that reached an altitude of 260 kilometers above the Earth’s surface.

During its journey, the bacteria faced extremely harsh conditions, starting with acceleration forces that reached 13 times Earth’s gravity during launch, through a state of weightlessness that lasted six minutes, and reaching enormous braking forces that exceeded 30 times Earth’s gravity during return, in addition to rotation at a rate of 220 revolutions per second.

After the samples returned to Earth and were examined, the surprising results revealed that the bacteria maintained their cellular structure completely intact, without any significant impact on their growth ability.

These results are of great importance to the health of astronauts on long-term missions such as trips to Mars, as the healthy balance of the body depends greatly on the stability of the bacterial environment in the intestines.

On the other hand, these results raise serious scientific warnings about the possibility of contaminating other planets with terrestrial bacteria, especially as space agencies around the world prepare to send manned missions to Mars.

A previous study warned that some terrestrial bacteria could find a suitable environment for living in Martian soil, which threatens to disrupt the search for indigenous Martian life, and poses a potential danger to the health of the astronauts themselves.

This study shows the urgent need to develop more stringent protocols to protect the ecosystems of other planets, while at the same time preserving the health of astronauts and ensuring the success of future exploration missions.

Source: gizmodo