An Israeli experiment conducted on the "Columbia" ferry - returned to Israel

NASA handed over to researchers from the Israel Institute for Space Medicine test tubes containing milk powder enriched with a friendly bacteria - which was sent into space on the shuttle Columbia. The experiment survived the shuttle explosion, and now the researchers will try to decipher its results - in Israel

Press release on behalf of the Israel Institute of Space Medicine

A team of Israeli researchers from the Israel Institute of Space and Aviation Medicine received parts of an experiment conducted on the space shuttle Columbia that crashed upon entering the atmosphere on February 1, 2003.

The facility that contained the experiment miraculously managed to survive the explosion and arrived intact on Earth. The experiment was found by NASA when opening the experimental payload that landed with the shuttle debris. The researchers were surprised to find that the experiment was not damaged, despite the explosion in the shuttle, its fall from a great height through the atmosphere and its exposure to the great heat.

The Israeli experiment was carried out in collaboration with the Israel Institute for Space and Aviation Medicine. The experiment was directed by Dr. Eran Shankar. The crew stayed during the Columbia mission at the Test Control Center at the launch site in Cape Canaveral, Florida. With the investigation of the findings and the remains of the shuttle, the findings of the Israeli experiment were released and transferred, as mentioned, to the researchers.

The researchers tested the effectiveness of friendly probiotic bacteria in space - to help astronauts in space improve the function of the immune system and digestion in their bodies, as well as help the calcium balance in the body. For this purpose, the Israeli Institute of Space Medicine, together with the "Materna" company, developed a special ingredient enriched with friendly bacteria - M-107. This milk powder contains high levels of the friendly bacteria Bifidobacterium lactis Bb12, and researchers estimate that it will prevent medical problems that plague astronauts during their stay in outer space.

During their missions in space, the astronauts suffer from various physiological deficiencies, the most serious of which are - damage to the function of the immune system that causes the risk of contracting diseases and infections, damage to the calcium balance and metabolism that leads to the depletion of bone mass (osteoporosis), and increases the risk of bone fractures and stones in the urinary tract. Also, there was a decrease in the amount of friendly bacteria in the astronauts' digestive system, freeing them from infections, diarrhea and excess production of gases - which are a problem in the closed shuttle where only minimal air exchange is possible.

The friendly bacteria will help the astronauts

Various studies conducted show that the consumption of dairy products enriched with probiotic bacteria by the astronauts, before and during the flight into space, helps to improve the balance of calcium and positive bacteria on the beach and strengthens the immune system. Space doctors estimate that the controlled use of dairy products enriched with friendly bacteria will maintain the normal health of the astronauts in space, both in short-term missions in the space shuttles, and in long missions - in the future space station and long flights to other planets - in the future.

For the purpose of investigating the matter, the Israeli milk powder, M-107, was tested in space, and the various biological processes that the friendly bacteria went through before the launch, and during the stay in space, were tested. The data collected during the flight have now reached the researchers in Israel, and they will be checked against the results of similar experiments conducted on Earth.

The experiment was conducted in collaboration with NASA, after the Israeli Institute of Space and Aviation Medicine was selected as an official and international center for the development of food technologies for astronauts. The researchers on behalf of the institute and the Materna company are now testing the bacteria that have returned to Earth, and are conducting a microbiological analysis to test their function.