To the International Space Station (ISS) an innovative microscope has arrived, created to explore that, how microorganisms adapt to the extreme conditions of life in space. The device is called the Extant Life Volumetric Imaging System — or simply ELVIS.
The microscope was developed by researchers at Oregon State University in collaboration with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California and with support from the ISS National Laboratory. He arrived in orbit 22 April aboard the SpaceX Dragon cargo capsule, as part of the 32nd commercial resupply mission for NASA.
ELVIS uses the latest holographic technology — volumetric (3D) microscopy — which allows creating three-dimensional images of microorganisms and cells. Thanks to this, it is possible to study in detail the structure and behavior of living cells in a state of microgravity, a unique environment, available only in space.
The objective of the mission is to detect, how microscopic life itself changes in the conditions of space. The results may have implications not only for medicine or microbiology on Earth, but also to help search for life on other planets and moons in the future, such as Europe (a satellite of Jupiter) or Enceladus (a satellite of Saturn).
Unlike traditional microscopes, which give only a flat image, ELVIS allows you to see and track cellular changes in three-dimensional space. This allows you to capture the smallest movements, which indicate signs of life or cellular responses to new conditions. It also allows you to distinguish real cells from inorganic particles — for example, from dust or minerals, which are often disguised as microorganisms.
During its stay on the ISS, the microscope will study two extremely resistant organisms: Euglena gracilis is a microalgae, known for its ability to adapt to a wide variety of conditions, and Colwellia psychrerythraea — a bacterium, that lives in deep, cold ocean waters. Studying them in space, scientists seek to detect not only external changes, and internal ones — at the genetic level.
ELVIS is specially designed to work in difficult space conditions. Its design provides high reliability, low energy consumption and automated control, which reduces the need for the participation of astronauts and allows conducting experiments with minimal interruptions.