Scientists discover three new strains of bacteria aboard the ISS

“Four strains belonging to the family of Methylobacteriaceae were isolated from different locations on the International Space Station (ISS) across two consecutive flights,” the study published in the journal frontiers in Microbiology.

Kasthuri Venkateswaran and Nitin Kumar Singh, two of the paper’s authors from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, explained in a press release that the bacteria formed on plants that astronauts were growing in space.

“To grow plants in extreme places where resources are minimal, isolation of novel microbes that help to promote plant growth under stressful conditions is essential,” the two said.

The discovery of these new bacteria in the plants could lead to breakthroughs in plant growth and space farming.