What does NASA send yeast to space for?

NASA uses brewer’s yeast to study cosmic radiation – Photo: INVERSE

Cosmic radiation remains a significant danger to space explorers: sThe invisible bombardment of heavy atomic particles and high energy from solar flares and supernovas can cause damage to the human body.

Unfortunately, cosmic radiation is difficult to reproduce in the laboratory. This makes it a challenge to study its harmful effects.

According to the news site Inversein an effort to find a way to deal with the radiations of the universe, the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) scientists have launched aA study entitled “The BioSentinel Mission”.

They placed two strains of brewer’s yeast (also known as Saccharomyces cerevisiae), consisting of one strong strain and one susceptible strain, Enter the CubeSat mini satellite to accompany the mission to the Moon – Artemis 1.

After reaching the Moon, which is expected at the end of 2022, the satellite will carry BioSentinel will split, fly past the Moon to orbit the Sun.

The BioSentinel is housed in a CubeSat – a small satellite about the size of a cereal box – and will detach from the Artemis 1 mission rocket when it reaches the Moon – Photo: GETTY

The Artemis 1 mission will last about 3 weeks in orbit, but the CubeSat and BioSentinel will stay in space longer, about 6 months. Scientists can remotely control yeast activities and accompanying experiments in the CubeSat satellite.

Brewer’s yeast – a single-celled organism – has an analogue to the human body. The enzyme repairs DNA damage – a major consequence of radiation – similar to how human cells work.

NASA hopes space-flying brewer’s yeast will reveal new information about how cosmic radiation might affect its astronauts, helping them figure out way for people to move in space for longer periods of time.

Brewer’s yeast increases longevity

A recent study in fruit flies found that a moderate use of yeast in the diet can increase life expectancy by an average of 50%, and this is likely to have similar results in others. People.