Report: Bacteria Found on Hull of International Space Station

Bacteria found on the hull of the International Space Station is not from Earth, but so far, it has not been shown to be harmful to humans, says a Russian cosmonaut.

"And now it turns out that somehow these swabs reveal bacteria that were absent during the launch of the ISS module," Russian astronaut Anton Shkaplerov told TASS on Monday.

"That is, they have come from outer space and settled along the external surface. They are being studied so far, and it seems that they pose no danger. So they have flew from somewhere in space and settled on the outside hull."

Tests are being conducted on the bacteria, which was found when scientists were taking swab test samples from the exterior surface of the station during a previous mission. The microorganisms were not on the hull at the launch of the ISS in 1998. Scientists took swabs particularly from places where fuel wastes were discharged while the engines were operating and obscure places.

It is possible the bacteria was brought to space on PC tables onboard the ISS used for analysis purposes.

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