AI-generated summary
Since the dawn of humanity, exploring and understanding space has been a defining pursuit. Today, human presence extends beyond Earth with astronauts living on the International Space Station (ISS), where numerous experiments are conducted, notably on human microbiota—the diverse community of microorganisms vital to our health. Research has shown that space conditions significantly alter this microbiota, as seen in studies like the Mars500 simulation and the 2019 investigation of astronaut twins, revealing changes in bacterial populations linked to critical physiological functions. Prolonged confinement in sterile space environments risks reducing microbial diversity, potentially impacting astronaut health. These findings have profound implications, not only for long-duration space missions but also for Earth-based medicine, with promising therapeutic avenues such as fecal transplants and treatments for metabolic and neurological conditions.
Space research also explores extremophile bacteria and anaerobic organisms to understand life’s adaptability in harsh conditions, contributing to theories like panspermia and insights into antibiotic resistance. Advanced omics technologies—analyzing genomes, proteins, and metabolites—enable scientists to study how life adapts to microgravity and cosmic radiation. These studies aid the development of cancer therapies, life support systems, and food production methods for space travel. On Earth, omics data help uncover the body’s responses to environmental stresses and lead to new drug discoveries. Collaborations like NASA’s upcoming Space Gateway lunar base will leverage microbiological insights from the ISS to support future human exploration of the Moon and Mars, while enhancing our understanding of health and disease on Earth.
In orbiting laboratories, experiments are carried out that outline a future of research from space, the usefulness of which will also be evident on Earth.
Researching and knowing what is in space has defined us since the origins. Today, human activities have extended to space environments: astronauts from different countries are housed on the International Space Station (ISS) for long periods and numerous experiments are carried out. Among them, those on the human microbiota and the possibility of developing the Processing of omics data, i.e. those used by biomolecular disciplines whose main object of study is the genome. The results obtained are indispensable for manned space exploration, but they also have important implications for life on Earth.
Human beings are made up of almost half of microorganisms, responsible for regulating numerous physiological processes and contributing to the maintenance of homeostasis and our well-being. The microbiota is the set of all these microorganisms (viruses, bacteria, protozoa, fungi) and is a dynamic entity, which varies with age, diet and the way we interact with the environment and people.
Thanks to expedition simulations, such as projects Mars500 project and the Hawaii Space Exploration ANalog and Simulation IV (HI-SES-IV), as well as real astronaut missions, has been able to demonstrate that the microbiota changes outside the orbit of our planet. In fact, extreme conditions can lead to a real struggle for survival among microorganisms, where dominant populations prevail over weaker ones.
Significant variations were recorded in a a 2019 study, which compared the microbiota of the Kelly twins, both astronauts. Scott remained on the ISS for a long time, while Mark traveled through space without stopping at the Station. The result was that populations of Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes bacteria, linked respectively to neurological, metabolic, immune system and fiber and starch digestion problems, had decreased only in Scott’s gut.
If we confine ourselves to an aseptic space for too long, such as the ISS, we run the risk of a substantial reduction in our microbial diversity, being The list of pathologies related to variations in the composition of the microbiota is becoming longer. That is why experiments carried out in space are so important and there is great enthusiasm for the new therapeutic possibilities that the study of the microbiota can offer: from faecal transplantation for the treatment of type 2 diabetes to its use to treat autism.
In space we also study the metabolism of anaerobic bacteria to understand how they might survive in an oxygen-free environment. We have exploited the extraordinary adaptive abilities of extremophile bacteria to discover if and what life can be, at temperatures or pressures prohibitive to most living things. We are thinking of launching them at enormous speeds aboard small space probes to experimentally verify the theory of panspermia. Finally, we are analysing genetic mutations in bacteria that have spent a more or less long period in space to investigate the mechanisms of antibiotic resistance.
But the possibilities offered by space laboratories are many, in particular the perspectives provided by the study of omics data are interesting. NASA’s experiments address the
The results of these space-based studies can provide useful information about the body’s defence mechanisms against cosmic radiation, so that they could be used to develop new cancer therapies. In addition, they can help develop technologies for human survival in space, such as growing food and creating life support systems.
On Earth, omics data can be harnessed to study the effect of environmental stress on biological systems. This can help to better understand how the human body reacts to stress and thus develop new therapies for stress-related diseases. But also for the identification of new active ingredients for drugs. In fact, bacteria isolated from the International Space Station have been used to produce new therapeutic molecules or to develop new radiation protection technologies in cancer therapy.
The path is laid out and NASA is working with other space agencies to develop a small spacecraft, known as Space Gateway, that will orbit the Moon and be the base for new astronaut expeditions to the satellite and for future human missions to Mars. The data obtained from microbiological studies on the ISS and in other simulated environments on the relationship between humans and microorganisms will be useful for exploring the universe, but especially for life on Earth.
