A new strain of bacteria, named Niallia tiangongensis, has been discovered on China’s Tiangong space station. The microbe is a variant of a soil-dwelling terrestrial bacterium that can cause sepsis and was found inside one of the station’s cabins. Researchers analyzed samples collected from the 2023 Shenzhou-15 mission and found that the bacteria had developed key adaptations to survive in outer space, including genes that code for responses to oxidative stress, repair mechanisms against radiation damage, and biofilm formation.
These discoveries have implications for future space missions and the potential risks associated with space-adapted bugs. The researchers hope that by studying Niallia tiangongensis further, they can gain insights into how it survives in space and develop strategies to prevent human astronauts from harm. This is not the first time a microbe has made the evolutionary leap to survive beyond Earth; previous discoveries have shown that space-adapted bacteria can thrive in extreme environments.
The analysis of Niallia tiangongensis was published in the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology on March 3.
Source: https://www.livescience.com/space/space-exploration/unknown-strain-of-bacteria-found-on-chinas-tiangong-space-station