As if the space wasn’t dangerous enough, bacteria become more deadly in microgravity.

China has launched its Tianwen-1 mission to Mars. A rocket holding an orbiter, lander, and rover took off yesterday from the country’s Hainan province, hoping to deploy the rover to the surface of Mars early next year.

Similarly, the launch of the Emirates Mars Mission on Sunday marked the foray of the Arab world into interplanetary space travel. And on July 30, we hope to see NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover finally take off from Florida.

For many nations and their peoples, space is becoming the last frontier. But while we’re gaining the ability to travel smarter and faster into space, much remains to be known about its effects on biological substances, including us.

While the possibilities for space exploration seem endless, so are its dangers. And a particular danger comes from the smallest life forms on Earth: bacteria.

Bacteria live within us and around us. So, whether we like it or not, these microscopic organisms cling wherever we go, even into space. Just as the unique environment of space has an impact on us, it also affects bacteria.

We still don’t know the severity of the problem.

All life on Earth evolved with gravity as an ever-present force. Therefore, life on Earth has not been adapted to spend time in space. When gravity is removed or greatly reduced, gravity-influenced processes also behave differently.

In space, where there is minimal gravity, sedimentation (when solids in a liquid settle to the bottom), convection (the transfer of thermal energy), and buoyancy (the force that causes certain objects to float) are minimized .

Similarly, forces such as the surface tension of the liquid and capillary forces (when a liquid flows to fill a narrow space) become more intense.

How such changes impact life forms is still not fully understood.

How bacteria become more deadly in space

Worryingly, research from space flight missions has shown that bacteria become more deadly and resilient when exposed to microgravity (when only small gravitational forces are present).

In space, bacteria appear to become more resistant to antibiotics and more deadly. They also stay that way for a short time after returning to Earth, compared to bacteria that never left Earth.

In addition to that, bacteria also seem to mutate faster in space. However, these mutations are predominantly for bacteria to adapt to the new environment, not to become super deadly.

More research is needed to examine whether such adaptations, in fact, allow bacteria to cause more disease.

Bacterial teamwork is bad news for space stations

Research has shown that the microgravity of space promotes the formation of bacteria in biofilms.

Biofilms are densely packed cell colonies that produce a matrix of polymeric substances that allow bacteria to adhere to each other and to stationary surfaces.

Biofilms increase bacteria resistance to antibiotics, promote their survival, and improve their ability to cause infection. We have seen teams grow and join biofilms on space stations, causing them to biodegrade.

For example, biofilms have affected the navigation window of the Mir space station, the air conditioning, the oxygen electrolysis block, the water recycling unit and the thermal control system. Prolonged exposure of such equipment to biofilms can cause a malfunction, which can have devastating effects.

Another effect of microgravity on bacteria involves its structural distortion. Certain bacteria have shown reductions in cell size and increases in the number of cells when they grow in microgravity.

For the former, bacterial cells with a smaller surface area have fewer interactions between molecules and cells, and this reduces the effectiveness of antibiotics against them.

Furthermore, the absence of effects produced by gravity, such as sedimentation and buoyancy, could alter the way in which bacteria ingest nutrients or drugs intended to attack them. This could result in increased drug resistance and infectivity of bacteria in space.

All of this has serious implications, especially when it comes to long-distance space flight where gravity would not be present. Experiencing a bacterial infection that cannot be treated under these circumstances would be catastrophic.

The benefits of conducting research in space

On the other hand, the effects of space also result in a unique environment that can be positive for life on Earth.

For example, the molecular crystals in the microgravity of space become much larger and more symmetrical than on Earth. Having more uniform crystals allows the formulation of more effective medications and treatments to combat various diseases, including cancers and Parkinson’s disease.

Furthermore, the crystallization of the molecules helps determine their precise structures. Many molecules that cannot crystallize on Earth can be in space.

Then the structure of such molecules could be determined with the help of space research. This would also assist in the development of higher quality medications.

Fiber optic cables can also be manufactured to a much better standard in space, due to optimal crystal formation. This greatly increases the data transmission capacity, making networks and telecommunications faster.

As humans spend more time in space, an environment riddled with known and unknown dangers, further research will help us further examine the risks and potential benefits of the unique environment of space.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.