composition

08 Apr

ISS infested with bacteria like gym on Earth: NASA

Washington: A team of NASA researchers, including an Indian-origin scientist has found the surface inside the International Space Station (ISS) is littered with microbes just like in a gym or office on Earth -- threatening astronauts' health at the orbiting laboratory. The knowledge of the composition of the microbial and fungal communities on the ISS can be used to develop safety measures for NASA for long-term space travel or living in space, said the researchers in a paper that appeared in the open access journal Microbiome. Specific microbes in indoor spaces on Earth have been shown to impact human health."This is…

17 Aug

Mars 2020 rover to use X-ray techniques to find signs of life

Paris: NASA's Mars 2020 rover mission, which aims look for signs of past life on the Red Planet, will use smart X-ray techniques originally developed to find the oldest life on Earth, according a mission scientist. "Previous missions to Mars have used a relatively broad brush - analysing average chemistry over roughly the size of a postage stamp - to 'follow the water' and seek ancient habitable environments," said the mission's Deputy Project Scientist Ken Williford. "Mars 2020 takes the next natural step in its direct search for evidence of ancient microbial life, focusing measurements to the microbial scale and producing high-resolution…