Wow squid go to Space

Endeavour space shuttle has been shot to the International Space Station (ISS) on Monday (5/16/2011). In a mission to the last-25 at the same time, the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer shuttle Endeavour brought (AMS), a tool worth 2 billion U.S. dollars are useful to investigate antimatter and dark matter.

As attention focused on these expensive tools, in fact the youngest aircraft owned by the United States Space Agency (NASA) that also carry a payload that is not less important, namely a squid species Euprymna scolopes. Living organisms including Chepalopoda group was taken so they can learn, known effects on the health of astronauts.

Why is a squid? This creature has a symbiosis with the bacterium Vibrio fischeri. Through symbiosis, the bacteria have sufficient living space and nutrients from the squid, while the squid get the advantage because of bacteria capable of producing light. This helps the squid in search of food and avoid predators.

Well, as is known, the gravity in space is smaller than on Earth. In 2006, when the Salmonella bacteria sent into space and brought back to Earth, its ability to kill white mice were three times higher. The effect, known is what is expected to be the cause.

By sending a squid, scientists want to know the effect, known in beneficial microbes such as Vibrio fischeri. Will change be harmful? Later, the squid are taken into space that will be left colonized by bacteria, then turned off, frozen, and brought back to Earth.

When the bacteria in the squid are affected by the condition, known in space, then the bacteria in the body of an astronaut, for example in the digestive system, can also be affected by these conditions. "Essentially, we want to make sure the astronauts are in good health," said Jamie Foster of the University of Florida.

Foster said the shipment of squid with Vibrio fischeri in it this is the first mission of delivery of beneficial bacteria. "This is the first attempt to see the impact on beneficial bacteria," he said. The results of this study will be useful if the flight missions to asteroids and Mars materialized.

Endeavour is also carrying five other bacterial species, namely Cupriavidus metallidurans, radiation-resistant Deinococcus Radiodurans to 15,000 Gy, Haloarcula marismortui who live in high salinity environments, Pyrococcus furiosus heat resistant, and Targigrade that can live in a temperature range of -273 degrees Celsius to 150 degrees celsius. All five bacteria that will be used to investigate the truth of the hypothesis that life on Earth comes from meteorites.

Source: Kompas