--- title: "NASA Swabbing Outside of Space Station to See If Stuff Is Growing on It" description: "Two astronauts on the ISS are gearing up for a spacewalk to figure out if microorganisms on the outside of the station can survive." date: "2023-10-11" modified: "2023-10-11" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/swabbing-space-station" categories: - "NASA" - "Space" tags: - "astrobiology" - "astronauts" - "international space station" - "the digest" --- # NASA Swabbing Outside of Space Station to See If Stuff Is Growing on It ![Two astronauts on the ISS are gearing up for a spacewalk to figure out if microorganisms on the outside of the station can survive.]() *\Image: German Aerospace Center\* ## Swab Saget On Thursday, NASA astronaut Loral O'Hara and ESA commander Andreas Mogensen are [gearing up for a spacewalk]() to swab the exterior of the International Space Station. Their mission? Swabbing for evidence of microorganisms that might be clinging to its exterior, surviving under some of the most extreme conditions imaginable. Scientists have long studied some of the most resilient microbes on the planet to determine if they're capable of surviving in outer space — an area of study that could have some profound implications on the search for extraterrestrial life. ## Survivor: Orbit In 2015, astronauts mounted a box to the exterior of the ISS, exposing microbes to cryogenic temperatures and extreme levels of radiation. As detailed in a [2020 paper](), a team of Japanese researchers discovered that a bacteria placed inside the box called *Deinococcus radiodurans* appeared to survive for three years in outer space, baffling microbiologists. A separate experiment running from 2014 to 2016 by the German Aerospace Center called [Biology and Mars Experiment]() (BIOMEX) found that yet more simple organisms were able to survive the extreme conditions outside the ISS. The results hint that microbial life may be able to cover vast distances, perhaps even allowing rudimentary life forms to jump from planet to planet — potentially [transferring life between Earth and Mars](), for instance. "Of course, this does not mean that life actually exists on Mars," astrobiologist Jean-Pierre Paul de Vera said in a [statement]() at the time of the BIOMEX experiment. "But the search for life is more than ever the strongest driving force for the next generation of missions to Mars." In other words, we're only beginning to understand how life — at least how we've come to know it here on Earth — could survive outside our protective atmosphere. On Thursday, will swab the outside of the ISS to see if microorganisms can survive these treacherous conditions, bringing us one small step closer to figuring out if we're alone in the universe. And we can't wait to hear about what they find. **More on microorganisms in space:** *[Black Mold From Earth Could Survive on Mars, NASA Says]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()