The International Space Station (|SS) has low microbial diversity, which could lead to astronaut health issues, according to a study published in Cell.

Researchers found that the microbial communities resemble those found in sanitized environments like hospitals rather than natural settings.

Co-senior study author Pieter Dorrestein explains that increasing microbial exposure could improve astronaut health during long-term space travel.

The study suggests incorporating natural elements, like soil, into the ISS to enhance microbial diversity and astronaut well-being.

The study in question:

https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(25)00108-4

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 days ago

Space exploration has always been at mercy of politicians, especially manned spaceflight. It's only recently we've got a long-term space station used for real research, and it's about to be decommissioned because there is no political clout to be gained from sending humans to low Earth orbit anymore. Unlike planting a flag on Moon or Mars for which politicians are willing to spend trillions (but which has dubious scientific value).

Automatic probes are the only real future for space exploration because they are much cheaper than manned space programs (and thus easier to fund) and you can send them farther.