This is the 19 mission since the implementation of China's manned spaceflight project, and it is also the first manned mission in the space station phase. After the spacecraft was put into orbit, on June 7th 18: 48, Beijing time, three astronauts successively entered the Tianhe core cabin, marking the first time that China people entered their own space station.
Next, three astronauts will spend three months in the space station. So, is there bacteria in such a closed environment as the space station?
In fact, in the weightless environment of space, it is not easy to keep clean and sterile as imagined. If the cleaning work cannot be carried out, various fungi or bacteria may be infected. Especially in manned spacecraft, people breathe gas, body fluids, sweat, horniness and so on. Can provide living conditions for microorganisms. In a closed space station, bacteria are likely to breed in the air filtration and circulation system, which is a potential threat of "space disease".
From 65438 to 0998, the Mir space station in Russia began to show signs of aging. Frequent power outages, computer failures, and climate control system leaks are all problems that will be encountered from time to time. However, when astronauts began to study and evaluate the types of microorganisms sharing their living space, they got a very unexpected discovery.
They opened an inspection panel and found several turbid water droplets-each as big as a football. Later analysis showed that the water droplets were full of bacteria, fungi and mites. What is even more worrying is that some microorganisms have proliferated and have begun to erode the rubber seal around the window of the space station; Other microorganisms will secrete acidic substances, which are slowly corroding cables.
In 2006, rotine Nickerson, a microbiologist at Arizona State University, published a paper entitled "Bacteria will become more dangerous and powerful in space".
Nicholson did an experiment in space. She sent salmonella to the Atlanta space capsule. 1 1 days later, the capsule returned, and Nicholson and her research team implanted these salmonella cultured in outer space into hundreds of mice. At the same time, they also implanted salmonella cultured on the ground into hundreds of other mice.
A few days later, mice implanted with Salmonella in space became ill. Generally speaking, Salmonella can kill mice in seven days. These mice implanted with Salmonella in space culture died within five days, and the dose of bacteria was lower than usual.
This is the first time that it has been clearly confirmed that bacteria will become more dangerous after being cultured in space. It has been known for decades that microbes will change once they leave the earth. Sometimes they will reproduce faster and cause diseases; Sometimes it's the opposite. They reproduce more slowly and pose less threat. Experts say the biggest risk is that their behavior is unpredictable. Especially if you send a human body full of bacteria into space, the risk is unbearable.
In order to prevent the outbreak of fungi or space bacteria, ESA ESA conducted a new experiment on ISS to study various new materials with antibacterial properties in space and apply them to future space missions.
In China, antibacterial technology has been applied in the aerospace field. "Tiangong No.1" adopted nano-bacteriostatic technology. Aerospace-grade nano-bacteriostatic technology can effectively inhibit the growth of bacteria, making the bacteriostatic rate reach 97.54%, providing a strong guarantee for water quality safety and greatly improving the taste of drinking water.
The International Space Station has tested a new antibacterial coating called AGXX, which is made of silver and ruthenium. The effect of silver ruthenium coating is similar to bleach, which can kill all kinds of bacteria and some fungi, yeast and viruses. The coating will not fail, so it will not be exhausted, and will continue to be used in various aerospace materials in the future.