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A year in space is not a walk in the park. Try to “hit” Scott Kelly, an American astronaut who spent a full year in International Space Station (ISS) in 2015. Long-term life in space could change its DNA, telomeres and gut microbiome. He lost bone density and was still in pain three months after returning from the ISS.
Yet it is another thing to survive in space without the protection of the ISS (life outside the space station). Where UV radiation, vacuum, very large temperature fluctuations and microgravity as threats are imminent.
So what a wonderful feat this is for the bacterial species first found in canned meat, Deinococcus Radiodurans. The bacteria are still alive and active after one year of life on a specially designed platform outside the ISS pressurized module.
Page Live science reports, researchers have been studying this powerful microbe for a while. In 2015, an international team set up a Tanpopo mission outside the Japan Kibo Experimental Module to test strong bacterial species.
Now, D radiodurans has had a glorious past. Bacterial cells are dehydrated, sent to the ISS and housed in the Exposed Facility, a platform that is continuously exposed to the space environment – in this case, the cells are located behind a glass window that blocks UV rays at wavelengths less than 190 nanometers.
“The results presented in this study could raise awareness of planetary protection issues, for example, the Martian atmosphere absorbs UV radiation below 190-200 nm,” said team members from Austria, Japan. and Germany in their new article.
“To mimic these conditions, our experimental setup at the ISS includes silicon dioxide glass windows,” he said.
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