Space Station Research Explorer Experiment Details

https://www.nasa.gov/mission/station/research-explorer/investigation/?#id=7687 The Biomolecule Extraction and Sequencing Technology (BEST) investigation studies the use of sequencing for the identification of unknown microbial organisms living on the International Space Station (ISS), and for understanding how humans, plants and microbes adapt to living on the ISS. Microbial Organisms are isolated and identified from various locations on the ISS using a swab-to-sequencer process that does not require cultivation of organisms prior to processing. Additional objectives of the BEST investigation include the comparison of mutation rates of bacteria grown on Earth to those of bacteria grown on the ISS using periodic whole-genome sequencing; and a demonstration that it is possible to sequence ribonucleic acid (RNA) isolated from any organism directly, utilizing the Biomolecule Sequencer and Genes in Space hardware already onboard the ISS.