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Survival of epiphytic bacteria from seed stored on the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF)Microbial contamination in American spacecraft has previously been documented, however, potential risks to plants and humans in future space based controlled ecological life support systems (CELSS) have yet to be addressed directly. The current study was designed to determine the survival of microorganisms exposed to the relatively harsh conditions found in low Earth orbit (LEO). Total mean dosage for flight and ground control seeds were 210.2 and 0.9 rads, respectively. Bacteria were isolated by plating samples of seedwashings onto dilute tryptic soy agar. Pure isolates of morphologically distinct bacteria were obtained by standard microbiological procedures. Bacteria were grouped according to colony type and preliminary identification was completed using a fatty acid analysis system. Bacillus spp. were the primary microorganisms that survived on seed during the experiment. Results support the hypothesis that terrestrial microorganisms can survive long periods of time in relatively harsh LEO environments.
Document ID
19920017879
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Schuerger, Andrew C.
(The Land Lake Buena Vista, FL., United States)
Norman, Bret L.
(The Land Lake Buena Vista, FL., United States)
Angelo, Joseph A., Jr.
(Science Applications International Corp. Melbourne, FL., United States)
Date Acquired
September 6, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 1992
Publication Information
Publication: NASA. Langley Research Center, LDEF: 69 Months in Space. First Post-Retrieval Symposium, Part 3
Subject Category
Life Sciences (General)
Accession Number
92N27122
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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