Antarctic Microbes Put Survival to the Test in Space

https://issnationallab.org/press-releases/antarctic-microbes-put-survival-to-the-test-in-space/ What can some of Earth’s toughest microbes teach us about surviving in space? An international team of researchers is leveraging the ISS National Laboratory® to find out. The team is using the MISSE Flight Facility, a platform mounted outside the space station, to subject extremophile microbes from Antarctica and Chile to radiation and other spaceflight stressors. The POLARIS investigation will study how these organisms change after months of exposure to the extreme environment, providing insights that could help scientists develop more resilient biological systems for space while advancing applications in pharmaceuticals, materials science, and other industries on Earth.