Yes, you’ve heard right! Three lifeforms that have been ‘unknown to science’ until now were recently discovered by astronauts in the International Space Station, with the help of advanced genetic testing. The three new lifeforms have been found inside the ISS and it’s definitely a groundbreaking discovery that brings us one step closer to…well, aliens!
The three unknown lifeforms have been found in different areas on the International Space Station and it’s one of the greatest pieces of news we can receive, as it could pave the way to finding a new way to grow food in space.
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Four bacterias have been found in the ISS and analyzed by American and Indian scientists, and it’s quite interesting that three of them are considered new bacterias, as they’ve been unknown to science until now.
The astronauts have come across the three rod-shaped bacteria in certain areas of the station, one was found on the surface of a dining table, the second one was found in the Cupola observatory dome, and the third on an overhead panel at a research station. Amazing, right?
The fact that all three lifeforms have been able to survive the conditions of the International Space Station gives us a lot of hope into finding a way on how to grow food in space, as scientists have explained. Also, the three strains (referred to as IF7SW-B2T, IIF1SW-B5, and IIF4SW-B5) were collected by astronauts in 2015 and 2016, while the fourth strain (I1-R3) was collected in 2011.
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It’s certain that the four strains have been carried from Earth, but it’s still amazing how they’ve managed to survive for so long under ISS’s conditions, 250 miles above Earth.
The study was conducted by geneticist Dr. Swati Bijlani from the University of Southern California, who also decided to name the three new species discovered ‘Methylobacterium Ajmalii.’ He chose this name in honor of Ajmal Khan, an Indian biodiversity scientist. The findings have been published in the journal Frontiers in Microbiology.
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