Rare New Microbe Discovered in Two Spacecraft Clean Rooms: Surviving in Space

Scientists have discovered a new rare microbe on Earth that not only survives on very little to eat, but may also hitch a ride into space. Now, they're looking at this microbe a bit more closely after finding it in two spacecraft clean rooms in Florida and South America.

Very few microbes live in spacecraft clean rooms. Yet microbiologists often do thorough surveys of bacteria and other microbes in these rooms. Why? It's important to know exactly what organisms may hitch a ride into space, which could inform future research targeted at extraterrestrial life. Not only that, but because of the thorough cleaning that these rooms endure, bacteria are specially selected for withstanding stresses that could allow them to survive in space.

"We want to have a better understanding of these bugs, because the capabilities that adapt them for surviving in clean rooms might also let them survive on a spacecraft," said Parag Vaishampayan, one of the researchers, in a news release. "This particular bug survives with almost no nutrients."

The new population of bacteria is so different that it's not only been classified as a new species, but also a new genus. Named Tersicoccus phoenicis, the bacteria was first collected by test-swabbing the floor in Florida's clean room. What makes this bacterium more interesting is the fact that it was found in two locations, which means that it's not unique to one particular clean room.

That's not to say that Tersicoccus phoenicis may not exist outside of clean rooms, though. It's very possible that it may exist in the natural environment, but that it just might be hidden by thousands of other organisms.

"We find a lot of bugs in clean rooms because we are looking so hard to find them there," said Vaishampayan in a news release. "The same bug might be in the soil outside the clean room but we wouldn't necessarily identify it there because it would be hidden by the overwhelming number of other bugs."

The findings reveal a little bit more about this hardy strain of bacteria. More specifically, it shows that there are microbes that can endure harsh conditions that may extend into space.

The findings are published in the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology.