Antarctic Microbes Put Survival to the Test in Space
An international team is sending microbes from Antarctica and Chile to the International Space Station (ISS) to study how they withstand radiation and other spaceflight stressors. The ISS National Laboratory-sponsored investigation will leverage the MISSE Flight Facility, a permanent platform mounted externally on the space station, to expose the organisms to space for approximately six months.
The Polar Organisms Launched for Astrobiology Research in Ionizing Space (POLARIS) project will study six extremophiles, microorganisms naturally equipped to endure some of Earth's most unforgiving environments. Funded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), the project involves collaboration with the Department of Defense Space Test Program, the U.S. Air Force Academy, Aegis Aerospace, Radix–Lucis, and Biociencia Fundación Científica y Cultural, along with the U.S. Embassy in Chile and AFOSR's Southern Office of Aerospace Research and Development.
Previous ISS National Lab-sponsored research has indicated that spaceflight alters how microbes grow and function. Building on this work, POLARIS will expose three types of bacteria and three types of archaea, a group of single-celled organisms distinct from bacteria, to the space environment. After the organisms return to Earth, researchers will analyze them for genetic, structural, and protein-level changes.
Jenny Blamey, the project's principal investigator and scientific director at Fundación Científica y Cultural Biociencia, noted, "Extremophiles have evolved remarkable ways to survive radiation, dryness, low oxygen, and other harsh conditions on Earth. By exposing these organisms to space and bringing them back for analysis, we hope to learn more about how life survives in extreme environments and how those survival mechanisms could support future space exploration and industrial applications."
The research is scheduled to launch no sooner than May 13, 2026, on NASA's SpaceX Commercial Resupply Services 34 mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The mission will carry more than 25 ISS National Lab-sponsored investigations aimed at advancing various scientific disciplines, potentially improving cancer therapeutics, developing new materials, and advancing stem cell research toward clinical use.