How You Can Participate in Microbial Space Research
Volunteers are needed to sign up to Project MERCCURI, an investigation of how microbes found in buildings on Earth compare to microscopic life forms on board the largest and most complex structure ever built in space – the International Space Station.
MERCCURI stands for Microbial Ecology Research Combining Citizen and University Researchers on ISS, and the project provides volunteers with kits to collect microbes from the surfaces of buildings.
Registered participants are provided with a q-tip to swab surface areas as well as directions to follow. Samples are being collected up until September 2013 and once they have been taken are mailed to the University of California Davis where they will be sequenced and analyzed.
Microbes in Space
Results will be shared on the SciStarter citizen science Web site and up to 40 samples will get to fly on the space station. Here, they will be grown in microgravity and their growth rates compared to their counterparts in the UC Davis lab.
Samples can be taken from many kinds of surfaces not just buildings; these include televisions, cellphones, handrails, laptops, and many other everyday items.
The project is part of wider research at UC Davis that is attempting to understand more about the microbial ecology of the built environment.
Mission Planning
In addition, comparing growth characteristics of samples introduced into the microgravity environment of the ISS with growth in normal Earth gravity will feed into our understanding of microbial communities in space. This is important research that will help with the planning of future long duration space missions.
To learn more about the project and sign up click here.
Reader Comments
My PhD is in Microbiology and I am very interested in the results.
Posted by Dr. Eduardo C Schroder on May 15, 2013
Add your Comment
[LOGIN FIRST] if you're already a member.fields are required.