Summary:
- Researchers have discovered 26 new species of microbes living in the "clean rooms" where NASA spacecraft are assembled. These rooms are designed to be extremely clean and sterile to prevent contamination of spacecraft.
- The discovery of these unexpected microbes highlights the difficulty of maintaining a completely sterile environment, even in the most controlled conditions. The microbes likely came from human skin and other sources.
- Understanding the types of microbes that can survive in these clean rooms is important for ensuring the safety and integrity of spacecraft as they explore other worlds, where they could potentially carry these microbes and contaminate the environments.