The Methylobacterium discovered during this study isn't harmful to the astronauts, either.
"Needless to say, the ISS is a cleanly-maintained extreme environment. Crew safety is the number 1 priority and hence understanding human/plant pathogens are important, but beneficial microbes like this novel Methylobacterium ajmalii are also needed."
Given the amount of bacteria found on the space station still awaiting analysis, and the potential for discovering new strains, the researchers hope that molecular biology equipment could be developed to study the bacteria while it's on the space station.
"Instead of bringing samples back to Earth for analyses, we need an integrated microbial monitoring system that collect, process, and analyze samples in space using molecular technologies," the researchers said. "This miniaturized 'omics in space' technology -- a biosensor development -- will help NASA and other space-faring nations achieve safe and sustainable space exploration for long periods of time."
