TYB
Sols 4466-4468: Heading Into the Small Canyon
Feb 26, 2025
Earth planning date: Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025
The fine detail of the image above reminds us once again that geoscience — on Mars and on Earth — is an observational science.
If you look at the image for a few moments, you will see that there are different areas made of different textures.
You will also observe that some features appear to be more resistant to weathering than others, and as a consequence stand out from the surface or the rims of the block.
Sedimentologists will study this and many other images in fine detail and compare them to similar images we have acquired along the most recent drive path.
From that they put together a reconstruction of the environment billions of years in the past: Was it water or wind that laid down those rocks, and what happened next?
Many of the knobbly textures might be from water-rock interaction that happened after the initial deposition of the material.
We will see; the jury is out on what these details tell us, and we are looking closely at all those beautiful images and then will turn to the chemistry data to understand even more about those rocks.
In the caption of the image above it says “merged” images.
This is an imaging process that happens aboard the rover — it takes two (or more) images of the same location on the same target, acquired at different focus positions, and merges them so a wider range of the rock is in focus.
This is especially valuable on textures that have a high relief, such as the above shown example. The rover is quite clever, isn’t it?
In today’s plan MAHLI does not have such an elaborate task, but instead it is documenting the rock that the APXS instrument is measuring.
The team decided that it is time for APXS to measure the regular bedrock again, because we are driving out of an area that is darker on the orbital image and into a lighter area.
If you want, you can follow our progress on that orbital image. (But I am sure many of the regular readers of this blog know that!)
That bedrock target was named “Trippet Ranch.” ChemCam investigates the target “San Ysidro Trail,” which is a grayish-looking vein.
As someone interested in water-rock interactions for my research, I always love plans that have the surrounding rock (the APXS target in this case) and the alteration features in the same location.
This allows us to tease out which of the chemical components of the rock might have moved upon contact with water, and which ones have not.
As we are driving through very interesting terrain, with walls exposed on the mesas — especially Gould mesa — and lots of textures in the blocks around us, there are many Mastcam mosaics in today’s plan!
The mosaics on “Lytle Creek,” “Round Valley,” “Heaton Flat,” “Los Liones,” and the single image on “Mount Pinos” all document this variety of structures, and another mosaic looks right at our workspace.
It did not get a nice name as it is part of a series with a more descriptive name all called “trough.” We often do this to keep things together in logical order when it comes to imaging series.
The long-distance RMIs in today’s plan are another example of this, as they are just called “Gould,” followed by the sol number they will be taken on — that’s 4466 — and a and b to distinguish the two from each other.
Gould Mesa, the target of both of them, exposes many different structures and textures, and looking at such walls — geologists call them outcrops — lets us read the rock record like a history book!
And it will get even better in the next few weeks as we are heading into a small canyon and will have walls on both sides. Lots of science to come in the next few downlinks, and lots of science on the ground already!
I’d better get back to thinking about some of the data we have received recently, while the rover is busy exploring the ever-changing geology and mineralogy on the flanks of Mount Sharp.
https://science.nasa.gov/blog/sols-4466-4468-heading-into-the-small-canyon/
Will it hatch?
Intuitive Machines’ Lunar Lander Separates from SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket
February 26, 2025
At approximately 8:01 p.m. EST, Intuitive Machines’ lunar lander separated from SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, powered on approximately 12 minutes later, and will continue its weeklong journey to the Moon.
Aboard the lander is NASA science and technology as part of the agency’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign.
Also launching as a rideshare on the mission, NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer spacecraft separated from the launch vehicle at 8:04 p.m.
EST and will also continue its journey to lunar orbit where it will map the distribution of the different forms of water on the Moon.
Athena is expected to land on the lunar surface on Thursday, March 6. Among their second lunar delivery, the IM-2 mission will be one of the first on site, or in-situ, demonstrations of resource detection on the Moon.
A drill and mass spectrometer will measure the potential presence of volatiles or gases from lunar soil in Mons Mouton, a lunar plateau near the Moon’s South Pole.
In addition, a passive Laser Retroreflector Array on the top deck of the lander will bounce laser light back at any orbiting or incoming spacecraft to give future spacecraft a permanent reference point on the lunar surface.
Other technology instruments on this delivery will demonstrate a robust surface communications system and deploy a propulsive drone that can hop across the lunar surface.
https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/missions/2025/02/26/intuitive-machines-lunar-lander-separates-from-spacex-falcon-9-rocket/
NASA Remembers Long-Time Civil Servant John Boyd
Feb 26, 2025
John Boyd, known to many as Jack and whose career spanned more than seven decades in a multitude of roles across NASA as well as its predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), died Feb. 20.
He was 99. Born in 1925, and raised in Danville, Virginia, he was a long-time resident of Saratoga, California.
Boyd is being remembered by many across the agency, including Dr. Eugene Tu, director, NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, where Boyd spent most of his career.
“Jack brought an energy, optimism, and team-based approach to solving some of the greatest technological challenges humanity has ever faced, which remains part of our culture to this day,” said Tu.
“There are few careers as wide-ranging and impactful as Jack’s.”
In 1947, Boyd began his career at the then-called Ames Aeronautical Laboratory in Moffett Field, California, as an aeronautical engineer working to design and test various wing shapes using the center’s 1-by-3-foot supersonic wind tunnel.
Boyd continued conducting research in wind tunnels, testing designs that led to dramatic increases in the efficiency of the supersonic B-58 bomber, as well as the F-102 and F-106 fighters.
In 1958, just before Ames became part of a newly established NASA, Boyd recalled thinking, “Maybe someday we’ll go out into the far blue yonder, and if we do, what are we going to fly?
How are we going to bring it back into the atmosphere safely?”
He and a team of engineers turned their attention to studying the dynamics of high-speed projectiles in hypervelocity ranges, filled with different mixtures of gases to mimic the atmospheres of Mars and Venus, in preparation for sending spacecraft out into space and safely back again or to the surface of other worlds.
By the mid-60s, Boyd was promoted into leadership and tapped to become deputy director for Aeronautics and Flight Systems at NASA Ames.
In the late 1960s, as America was redefining its space exploration goals and sending humans to the Moon, Boyd served as the center’s lead to assist NASA Headquarters in Washington consolidate and create new research programs.
In 1979, Boyd served as the deputy director at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center (now known as NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center) in Edwards, California, and prepared the center for its role as a landing site for the space shuttle.
He briefly returned to Ames before heading to NASA Headquarters to be associate administrator for management under James M. Beggs.
Boyd left government service in 1985, taking a position as chancellor for research and an adjunct professor of aerodynamics, engineering, and the history of spaceflight for the University of Texas System.
Boyd returned to NASA and California’s Silicon Valley in 1993,inspiring students through educational outreach initiatives, and serving as the senior advisor to the director, senior advisor for history, and the center ombudsman until his retirement in 2020.
Boyd credits his interest in airplanes to a cousin who was a paratrooper and gave him a ride in a biplane in the 1940s.
In 1943, he enrolled and became the first in his family to earn a degree with a bachelor of science in aeronautical engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia.
He was a recipient of the NASA Exceptional Service Award, the NASA Outstanding Leadership Award, the NASA Equal Employment Opportunity Medal, the Presidential Rank of Meritorious Executive, the NASA Distinguished Service Medal, the Army Command Medal, and the NASA Headquarters History Award.
He also was a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and a Sloan Fellow at Stanford University.
“The agency and the nation thank and honor Jack as a member of the NASA family and the highest exemplar of a public servant who believed investing in others is the greatest contribution one can make,” added Tu.
“He will be deeply missed.”
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-remembers-long-time-civil-servant-john-boyd/
NASA, SpaceX Update the Launch of Space Telescope and Sun Missions
February 26, 2025
NASA and SpaceX now are targeting no earlier than Sunday, March 2, for the launch of the agency’s SPHEREx and PUNCH missions.
The new date will allow additional time for teams to perform rocket processing ahead of liftoff.
The launch time is targeted for 10:09 p.m. EST (7:09 p.m. PST) from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
The SPHEREx mission (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer) will improve our understanding of what happened in the first second after the big bang and search for key ingredients for life in our galaxy.
The PUNCH mission (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere) will observe the Sun’s corona as it transitions into the solar wind.
The prelaunch news briefing now is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 1, with coverage streaming live on NASA+.
Media may ask questions in person and via phone. Limited auditorium space will be available for in-person participation.
For the dial-in number and passcode, media should contact the Kennedy newsroom no later than one hour before the start of the event at ksc-newsroom@mail.nasa.gov.
The SPHEREx and PUNCH live launch broadcast will begin at 9:15 p.m., Sunday, March 2, and stream live NASA+.
https://blogs.nasa.gov/spherex/2025/02/26/nasa-spacex-update-the-launch-of-space-telescope-and-sun-missions/
DOGE-wary House panel defends key NASA program with Huntsville roots
Updated: Feb. 26, 2025, 3:06 p.m.
A congressional hearing Wednesday drew bipartisan support for a key NASA program with deep roots in Huntsville.
Speakers at the hearing, before a panel of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, stressed the national security and economic importance of the space agency’s $100 billion Artemis program to establish a permanent human presence on the Moon as a stepping stone to Mars.
Subcommittee members also issued hands-off warnings – sometimes subtle, sometimes overt – to Elon Musk, the billionaire administrator of the new Department of Government Efficiency.
Musk’s DOGE has been implementing President Donald Trump’s order for massive reductions in the federal workforce – cuts that have so far largely passed over NASA.
Rep. Mike Haridopolos of Florida, the Republican chairman of the Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics, called the moon “our critical stepping stone … every step we take toward the moon is a giant leap toward Mars.
“Mars is on the horizon, but the moon is where we first prove ourselves,” he said.
Artemis has far-reaching effects in Huntsville, where the Marshall Space Flight Center manages the Space Launch System rocket program and the lunar landing aspects of the program, as well as developing software and building adapters for various stages of the spacecraft.
Marshall and its contracting drive billions of dollars in annual economic impact in Alabama, according to an independent study released last year.
In remarks to the panel, Daniel Dumbacher, a former NASA executive and currently professor of engineering at Purdue University, said the U.S. is at a crossroads of leadership in space.
China, in particular, is “outplanning and outpacing us” in the drive to become dominant in space, he said. “This is a critical national security and economic concern.”
Scott Pace, director of the Space Policy Institute at the George Washington University, lauded the goals of Artemis but called for a more streamlined approach and more frequent flights.
He recommended NASA rely more on industry to provide heavy lift options for Earth-to-the-moon payloads that go beyond the single-use Space Launch System.
SpaceX dominates this market now, but Blue Origin and United Launch Alliance are testing launch platforms – both of the latter have a strong presence in north Alabama.
Musk, CEO of SpaceX, has a longstanding personal interest in colonizing Mars, along with significant financial interests in private space exploration.
He is also a skeptic of the importance of the U.S. moon-first policy. In a Jan. 2 post on his X platform, he wrote, “we’re going straight to Mars. The Moon is a distraction.”
Subcommittee members pushed back on that idea, though Musk’s name came up only occasionally.
Rep. Brian Babin, a Texas Republican and chairman of the committee, noted Congress first directed NASA in 2005 to colonize the moon before Mars.
Space exploration, he said, “requires that the government maintain continuity of purpose over the course of several years. Changing direction isn’t free, and it is incredibly taxing on the United States industrial base.”
Rep. Valerie Foushee of North Carolina, the ranking Democrat on the subcommittee, suggested the “chaos, confusion, and cruelty” that federal workers have faced due to the threat of downsizing could put the U.S. behind China in the race to the moon.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif, expressed “concern about the unprecedented influence Elon Musk seems to have over strategic direction in this administration.”
She suggested Musk’s interest in Mars before – or instead of – the moon was not only self-serving but also bad policy.
Dumbacher noted there is no global competition to land humans on Mars, while the race to the moon is intense.
A permanent presence on the moon before China, he said, would let the U.S. “establish the rules of the road, reap the economic benefits and retain the high ground.”
Pace noted Mars-first was the policy of the Barack Obama administration, which a directive Trump signed in his first term upended. In doing so, Trump helped spark the Artemis program.
“While people can have their personal interest in how to go about space exploration … the sequential steps Congress has laid out are in the national interest,” Pace said.
https://www.al.com/news/huntsville/2025/02/doge-wary-house-panel-defends-key-nasa-program-with-huntsville-roots.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpJmCt17KsA
Milky Way on the Horizon
Feb 26, 2025
NASA astronaut Don Pettit used a camera with low light and long duration settings to capture this Jan. 29, 2025, image of the Milky Way appearing beyond Earth’s horizon.
At the time, the International Space Station was orbiting 265 miles above the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Chile just before sunrise.
Pettit is part of the Expedition 72 crew, along with NASA astronauts Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore, and Nick Hague.
The orbital residents are exploring a variety of space phenomena to benefit humans on and off the Earth including pharmaceutical manufacturing, advanced life support systems, genetic sequencing in microgravity, and more.
https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/milky-way-on-the-horizon/
NASA Open Data Turns Science Into Art
Feb 26, 2025
An art display powered by NASA science data topped the Salesforce Tower in San Francisco, CA throughout December 2024.
Nightly visitors enjoyed “Synchronicity,” a 20-minute-long video art piece by Greg Niemeyer, which used a year's worth of open data from NASA satellites and other sources to bring the rhythms of the Bay Area to life.
Data for “Synchronicity” included atmospheric data from NASA and NOAA’s GOES (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites), vegetation health data from NASA’s Landsat program, and the Sun’s extreme ultraviolet wavelengths as captured by the NASA and ESA (European Space Agency) satellite SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory).
Chelle Gentemann, the program scientist for the Office of the Chief Science Data Officer within NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, advised Niemeyer on incorporating data into the piece.
“Artists have a lot to contribute to science,” Gentemann said.
“Not only can they play a part in the actual scientific process, looking at things in a different way that will lead to new questions, but they're also critical for getting more people involved in science.”
NASA’s history of engaging with artists goes back to the 1962 launch of the NASA Art Program, which partnered with artists in bringing the agency’s achievements to a broader audience and telling the story of NASA in a different and unexpected way.
Artists such as Andy Warhol, Norman Rockwell, and Annie Leibovitz created works inspired by NASA missions.
The Art Program was relaunched in September 2024 with a pair of murals evoking the awe of space exploration for the Artemis Generation.
The use of NASA data in art pieces emerged a few decades after the NASA Art Program first launched.
Several in-house agency programs, such as NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio, create stunning animated works from science data.
In the realm of audio, NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory runs the Universe of Sound project to convert astronomy data into “sonifications” for the public’s listening pleasure.
Collaborations with external artists help bring NASA data to an even broader audience.
NASA’s commitment to open science – making it as easy as possible for the public to access science data – greatly reduces the obstacles for creatives looking to fuse their art with cutting-edge science.
Another recent blend of NASA data and art came when digital art gallery ARTECHOUSE created “Beyond the Light,” a 26-minute immersive video experience featuring publicly available images from the James Webb Space Telescope and Hubble Space Telescope.
The experience has been running at various ARTECHOUSE locations since September 2023.
The massive potential for art to incorporate science data promises to fuel even more of these collaborations between NASA and artists in the future.
“One of the integral values of open science is providing opportunities for more people to participate in science,” Gentemann said.
“I think that by getting the public interested in how this art is done, they also are starting to play with scientific data, maybe for the first time.
In that way, art has the power to create new scientists.”
https://science.nasa.gov/open-science/artist-data-visualization/
Blue Origin Announces Crew For New Shepard’s 31st Mission
Feb 27, 2025
Blue Origin today announced the six people flying on its NS-31 mission. The crew includes Aisha Bowe, Amanda Nguyen, Gayle King, Katy Perry, Kerianne Flynn, and Lauren Sánchez, who brought the mission together.
She is honored to lead a team of explorers on a mission that will challenge their perspectives of Earth, empower them to share their own stories, and create lasting impact that will inspire generations to come.
Meet the NS-31 Crew
Aisha Bowe
Aisha is a former NASA rocket scientist, entrepreneur, and global STEM advocate.
She is the CEO of STEMBoard, an engineering firm recognized twice on the Inc. 5000 list of America’s fastest-growing private companies, and the founder of LINGO, an edtech company on a mission to equip one million students with essential tech skills.
Of Bahamian heritage, Aisha hopes her journey from community college to space will inspire young people in the Bahamas and around the world to pursue their dreams.
Amanda Nguyen
Amanda is a bioastronautics research scientist. She graduated from Harvard, and conducted research at Harvard Center for Astrophysics, MIT, NASA, and International Institute for Astronautical Sciences.
Amanda worked on the last NASA shuttle mission, STS-135, and the Kepler exoplanet mission. For her advocacy for sexual violence survivors, she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and awarded TIME’s Woman of the Year.
As the first Vietnamese and Southeast Asian woman astronaut, Amanda’s flight is a symbol of reconciliation between the United States and Vietnam, and will highlight science as a tool for peace.
Gayle King
Gayle is an award-winning journalist, co-host of CBS Mornings, editor-at-large of Oprah Daily, and the host of Gayle King in the House on SiriusXM radio.
In a career spanning decades, King has been recognized as a gifted, compassionate interviewer able to break through the noise and create meaningful conversations.
As someone who is staying open to new adventures, even ones that scare her, Gayle is honored to be part of Blue Origin’s first all-female flight team and is looking forward to stepping out of her comfort zone.
Katy Perry
Katy is the biggest-selling female artist in Capitol Records’ history and one of the best-selling music artists of all time with over 115 billion streams.
Aside from being a global pop superstar, Katy is an active advocate of many philanthropic causes, including as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador where she uses her powerful voice to ensure every child’s right to health, education, equality, and protection, and her own Firework Foundation, which empowers children from underserved communities by igniting their inner light through the arts.
Katy is honored to be a part of Blue Origin's first all-female crew and hopes her journey encourages her daughter and others to reach for the stars, literally and figuratively.
Kerianne Flynn
After a successful career in fashion and human resources, Kerianne Flynn has spent the last decade channeling her energy into community-building through board service and nonprofit work with The Allen-Stevenson School, The High Line, and Hudson River Park.
Passionate about the transformative power of storytelling, Kerianne has produced thought-provoking films such as This Changes Everything (2018), which explores the history of women in Hollywood, and LILLY (2024), a powerful tribute to fair-pay advocate Lilly Ledbetter.
Kerianne has always been drawn to exploration, adventure, and space, and hopes her Blue Origin space flight serves as an inspiration for her son, Dex, and the next generation of dreamers to reach for the stars.
Lauren Sánchez
Lauren is an Emmy Award-winning journalist, New York Times bestselling author, pilot, Vice Chair of the Bezos Earth Fund, and mother of three.
In 2016, Sánchez, a licensed helicopter pilot, founded Black Ops Aviation, the first female-owned and operated aerial film and production company.
Sánchez released her New York Times bestselling debut children's book, The Fly Who Flew to Space, in 2024.
Her work in aviation earned her the Elling Halvorson Vertical Flight Hall of Fame Award in 2024 for her expertise as a helicopter pilot and aviation businesswoman.
Sánchez’s goal is to inspire the next generation of explorers.
This mission will be the 11th human flight for the New Shepard program and the 31st in its history.
To date, the program has flown 52 people above the Kármán line, the internationally recognized boundary of space.
This is the first all-female flight crew since Valentina Tereshkova’s solo spaceflight in 1963.
https://www.blueorigin.com/news/new-shepard-ns-31-mission
Metal made in space lands on Earth
27/02/2025
The first metal 3D part ever created on orbit has landed on Earth.
The sample was produced in ESA’s Metal 3D Printer on the International Space Station.
Now, it’s on Earth for the first time, at ESA’s technical heart in the Netherlands (ESTEC).
The printer, developed by Airbus and its partners, was installed in the Columbus module by ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen during his Huginn mission in January 2024.
In June, the facility succeeding in making its first print, a curvy line in the shape of an 'S’. In summer, the printer produced its first full sample, and then a second sample in December.
This first sample will now be tested in the Materials and Electrical Components Laboratory at ESTEC and compared to samples printed on Earth to understand how microgravity affects the printing process.
The second sample will be handed over to the Technical University of Denmark (DTU).
While astronauts have operated plastic 3D printers on the International Space Station before, this marks the first successful metal printing on orbit.
As missions venture farther from Earth, in-space manufacturing will be crucial for self-sufficiency, allowing astronauts to manufacture essential parts, repair equipment and create tools on demand, without relying on costly resupply missions.
https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2025/02/Metal_made_in_space_lands_on_Earth
Microbial Research Aboard the International Space Station Suggests Astronauts Need to Get Their Hands Dirty
Feb 27, 2025
The International Space Station (ISS) may be too clean for astronauts’ own good, according to recent findings suggesting that the station’s sterility enables hostile microbiota to flourish.
Immune dysfunctions, skin rashes, and various inflammatory conditions commonly plague spacefarers.
A recent study found that the microbiota diversity on the ISS is significantly lower than in most environments on Earth, with those microbes present in space coming aboard with the astronauts.
“Future built environments, including space stations, could benefit from intentionally fostering diverse microbial communities that better mimic the natural microbial exposures experienced on Earth, rather than relying on highly sanitized spaces,” said co-first author Rodolfo Salido of the University of California, San Diego.
Astronauts aided the researchers by swabbing 803 surfaces on the ISS, a 100-fold increase from earlier surveys. In an earthbound lab, the researchers identified the bacterial species and chemicals present in the samples.
From these results, the team constructed three-dimensional maps of where bacteria and chemicals are present on the ISS, illustrating how they may be interacting.
While most health issues astronauts face have been minor, there are reasons to monitor the microbe communities aboard the ISS.
Health In Space
“Spaceflight conditions are known to weaken the immune system, increasing the risk of infections,” Salido told The Debrief.
“Beyond human health, microbes also pose a risk to the spacecraft. Biofilms—microbial communities that form on surfaces—have been known to clog essential systems and even corrode spacecraft components, making microbial monitoring critical for both astronaut safety and spacecraft integrity.”
The risk associated with health complications increases in orbit, where access to routine medical care is unavailable. Easily treatable infections could have significant health repercussions under limited medical resources.
“Additionally, a sick astronaut could jeopardize mission success, especially during long-duration spaceflights where each crew member is responsible for critical tasks,” Salido added.
“You don’t want a multi-year mission thrown off course because astronauts are battling a respiratory infection.”
International Space Station Microbes Identified
Human skin was the primary source of microbes, and cleaning products and disinfectants were also commonly found throughout the ISS samples.
Intriguingly, different rooms called “modules” all had unique chemical signatures and microbial communities stemming from chamber use.
Food-associated microbes were abundant in dining and food preparation areas, while urine and fecal microbes dominated toilet areas.
“We noticed that the abundance of disinfectant on the surface of the International Space Station is highly correlated with the microbiota diversity at different locations on the space station,” said co-first author Nina Zhao of UC San Diego.
Suggestions for Improving Health Aboard the International Space Station
The samples compared most similarly to hospitals, urban homes, and closed habitats on Earth, featuring less diverse microbial communities than normally expected on our planet.
ISS surfaces lacked the free-living environmental microbes that generally make their homes in soil and water on Earth.
The researchers suggest cultivating these microbes by incorporating the substrates they live in on the ISS to improve astronauts’ health while maintaining hygiene.
To do this, the researchers recommend bringing gardening to the ISS, a practice known to have significant positive health impacts for participants.
“There’s a big difference between exposure to healthy soil from gardening versus stewing in our own filth, which is kind of what happens if we’re in a strictly enclosed environment with no ongoing input of those healthy sources of microbes from the outside,” says Knight.
Next Step in Microbiota Research
The team’s next step is to refine their analyses to identify pathogenic microbes and appraise human health from metabolites.
Innovations in these areas could also help people living and working in sterilized environments on Earth. A specific objective on that front is to advance monitoring technologies.
“One long-term goal is to develop methods for real-time, culture-independent microbial monitoring,” Salida said.
“Right now, surface samples collected on the ISS must be sent back to Earth for analysis, which delays potential responses to microbial changes.
https://thedebrief.org/microbial-research-aboard-the-international-space-station-suggests-astronauts-need-to-get-their-hands-dirty/
https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(25)00108-4