 |  Bacteria’s survival skills tested on the International Space Station
 9 April 2011
Resistant spores of bacillus subtilis have now spent 22 months in the ’EXPOSE-R’
test container outside the International Space Station. For the first time during a
long-duration mission, they were mixed with artificial meteorite dust and exposed
to the harsh conditions of outer space. Scientists at DLR are now determining
precisely how many of these spores have survived their stay in space. If it turns
out that the meteorite dust was able to shield the spores from the hostile space
environment, microorganisms may be capable of surviving in meteorites for long
periods of time and travelling from one planet to another.
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