Russian Scientists Say That The ISS Is Full Of Dangerous Germs And Pathogens

While the Russia-Ukraine conflict is still ongoing, it has come to light that the Russian space authorities have some potential threats to their new space station program. As per the sources, ROSS (Russian Orbital Space Station) is on the verge of getting contaminated with germs. The Russian authorities have expressed serious concerns over this and are planning to remove the constituents of ROSS from the International Space Station to operate it individually.

Efforts for Russia’s space project are still underway, and the officials have already composed the primary and most important structure of ROSS. Oleg Orlov, Director of the Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said in a statement, “Using the ISS modules will lead to the transfer of the microbiota to the new modules and will accelerate the process of their biocontamination.”

He further said that these germs can directly affect the communication system of the space station, as happened in the case of the Mir orbital station when the microbes had an effect on its mechanical parts and damaged the communication equipment. Due to this, there is a potential that such kinds of germs can give rise to some imminent failures, which could become a probable cause of concern for future missions.

However, the experts are finding ways through which they can keep their new station clean from such microbes and their harmful impacts. This is the major halt in operations that Russia is facing against Ukraine. Hence, experts have argued that Russia should get its hands out of the ISS project in order to ensure the smooth working of ROSS, as they can’t delay their operations due to the potential threat of germs.

Having said that, it is still a better choice for the Russian scientists to look for other alternative options for the deployment of ROSS instead of integrating it with the ISS. In the other case, the pathogenic bacteria can also travel to ROSS and may cease its functional capabilities. Hence, it is always better to decide on a safer way before a failure occurs. According to the Russian scientists, “There’s a big problem with that plan.” So, the officials have to look for solutions before the occurrence of the problem and have some backup plans to ensure the efficiency of their space operations.