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Microbes are everywhere

NASA astronaut and Expedition 65 Flight Engineer Megan McArthur collects a sample of microorganisms present on the International Space Station in July 2021 for analysis and tracking in the Microbial Tracking-3 study.
NASA astronaut and Expedition 65 Flight Engineer Megan McArthur collects a sample of microorganisms present on the International Space Station in July 2021 for analysis and tracking in the Microbial Tracking-3 study. Photo: NASA

Astronauts and their cargo regularly introduce microbes to the ISS, creating a unique microbial environment since its first orbit of Earth in 1999. Over two hundred missions have contributed to this distinct microbial population in the station, which NASA is eager to track and understand. The confined environment of space, along with astronauts’ weakened immune systems and more aggressive bacteria, results in the common cold in space being much worse than one experienced on Earth.

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