There may be such a thing as being “too clean” — at least in space, according to researchers at UC San Diego. The sterile environment of the ISS may not be healthy in the long term, according to researchers, who think that astronauts need more exposure to microbes, or bacteria, found on Ear th in order to boost their immune system. Astronauts have often reported health issues like rashes, allergies and infections. Now, Professor Pieter Dorrestein is saying, as we prepare for extended missions to the moon, Mars and beyond, we should rethink how space habitats are designed. More news from out of this world space 15 hours ago SpaceX rocket return creates sonic boom before splashdown near Oceanside NASA Apr 2 NASA's Webb telescope captures photos of asteroid that won't hit Earth in 2032 Massachusetts Mar 31 Astronauts who spent nearly 300 days in space speak publicly “So for our immune system to properly function, we need to have some sort of exposure to different microbes, and that many of these microbes are missing,” Dorrestein said. The professor also said it may not just be the astronauts that need the microbes. “You’re going to have to grow plants in space, you’re going to have to grow your food,” Dorrestein said. “There’s no way around this, because you don’t have a replenishable supply. Food grows best when there’s microbes there. And so one way I can envision is that you have a soil community.” And so those microbes in the soil might just be the cure for the health problems faced by astronauts. “And so if those molecules that help your immune system, so to speak, if those are missing, and many of these are derived from, let’s say, plants, but they can also be made by microbes, if those are missing, now you have a higher potential of developing some health conditions, such as allergies or different immune responses,” Dorrestein said. Dorrestein, however, said researchers also detected molecules on the ISS that are known as forever chemicals and that their next step is to figure out how those molecules could impact astronauts’ health during long-term space travel. ...read more read less