Sunita Williams in space: Danger looms as respiratory system infecting ‘space bug’ detected at Space Station

Nasa astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore reached the International Space Station in a Starliner spacecraft recently. However, it has been reported that the India-origin astronaut, Williams along with other crew members might be in danger due to a ‘space bug’. This bug is capable of causing health issues by infecting the respiratory system of the astronaut or their crew members.

Detected at the ISS, scientists have found that this multi-drug resistant bacteria is known as ‘Enterobacter bugandensis’. It has evolved and has become more potent in a closed environment. Generally known as ‘superbug’, it is a multi-drug resistant bacteria that infects the human respiratory system.

As per the NASA statement, “In a new scientific paper funded by an Ames Space Biology grant, Principal Investigator Dr Kasthuri Venkateswaran of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory strains of Enterobacter bugandensis isolated from the International Space Station (ISS) were studied. Thirteen strains of E bugandensis, a bacterium notorious for being multi-drug resistant, were isolated from the ISS.”

These are not extraterrestrial bacteria but bugs that have travelled from Earth and now have become more dangerous in closed environments. The microgravity environment and closed-loop system of the ISS seem to have allowed the bacteria to evolve and become more potent.

Sunita Williams flew the Starliner spaceship from Earth on June 5 and docked it on the ISS on June 6 after a 25-hour journey. This is Williams’ third trip to the space. She has become the first woman to test the new Boeing Starliner spacecraft. The mission was initially scheduled for 10 days but NASA recently revealed that the Williams along with her crew members will not be returning to the Earth before June 18.

As per the official post by the International Space Station handle, “NASA and Boeing teams set a return date of no earlier than Tuesday, June 18, for the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test. The additional time in orbit will allow the crew to perform a spacewalk on Thursday, June 13, while engineers complete #Starliner systems checkouts.