26 Unidentified Bacterial Species Detected in NASA Cleaning Room

In space travel, it can often be the smallest thing to destroy the Great Mission. That’s why paying attention to details is key, especially in a clean room where they are placed and prepared for their rigorous journey in the universe. But even those well-regulated rooms cannot avoid some microorganisms. In fact, certain bacteria flourish in strict environments.

A group of scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, as well as other institutions in India and Saudi Arabia, discovered 26 previously unknown bacterial species in the cleanroom used to assemble the Phoenix spacecraft ahead of its launch in August 2007. The discovery, recently published in the journal Microbiome, highlights the potential risk posed by highly resilient microorganisms that could contaminate space missions or the planets they visit.

In this study, the scientists’ team sequenced 215 bacterial strains. Some of them were before the Phoenix Space Shuttle arrived at the clean room on April 25, 2007, while others were established during the assembly and testing of the spacecraft, and then moved to the launch pad to start the journey to Mars. Of the 215 strains, the team identified 53 strains belonging to 26 new species.

“Our research aims to understand the risks of extreme particles being transferred in space missions and to determine which microorganisms may survive under severe conditions in space,” Alexandre Rosado, a researcher at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) and lead author of the study, said in a statement. “This effort is to monitor the risks of microbial contamination and protect the risks of unintentional colonization of the planets.”

NASA Clean Room is a lifelong harsh environment with carefully controlled temperature, humidity and airflow to prevent dust and bacteria. The types of microorganisms that can survive in clean rooms can also be equipped in space. Many newly identified microorganisms grown in NASA clean rooms are particularly resilient to purification and radiation. Tough bacteria carry unique genetic defense systems, with traits such as DNA repair, metabolism enhancement, and ability to detoxify harmful molecules. These little guys are Destiny’s kids singing in the popular “Survivors.”

In addition to highlighting the potential impact of these bacteria in space, new discoveries may also be applied on Earth. “Space travel provides an opportunity to study microorganisms with relevant stress resistance genes,” said Junia Schultz, a postdoctoral researcher at Kaust and first author of the study, in a statement. “The genes found in these newly discovered bacterial species can be used in medicine, food preservation and other industries.”

It seems that NASA may also need to return to the drawing board when it comes to clean room design.