Carry viral proteins into the sky
Three Russian astronauts entered the space station in order to carry out scientific research missions for more than 100 days, but this time the carry-on belongings carried by the astronauts have been greatly controversial, although they carried daily necessities to relieve stress, but a special "coronavirus protein" has also been brought into space, is it necessary for researchers to study the coronavirus in space?
Three Russian astronauts went into space
On March 18, local time, the Russian Federal Space Agency announced that three astronauts carrying personal belongings, riding on the Soyuz carrier rocket, the Soyuz spacecraft into the International Space Station, to carry out a mission for more than 6 months, the main plan of this mission, is to return to earth with the space station is about to return to earth two Russian astronauts for handover work, at the end of this month, there will be two Russian astronauts and an American astronaut on the Soyuz spacecraft, back to Earth.
It is reported that the last time three Russian astronauts were launched at one time, it goes back to 1998. Because after this, the Russian Federal Space Agency and NASA had an agreement, that is, to exchange astronauts, NASA astronauts can train in Moscow to adapt to and ride different spacecraft, improve the experience of astronauts, and let them learn more control skills.
Interchange agreements
Russian astronauts can conduct basic operational training in the United States to adapt to some missions where emergencies occur. In fact, the purpose of this is to enable the astronauts of both sides to accurately control and get out of danger when the astronauts of one side are not on the space station or when there is a sudden emergency crisis in the spacecraft. At this point, the two sides signed an agreement that every time it was launched, the Russian Soyuz rocket must carry an American astronaut.
Personal belongings
Before the three astronauts took the spacecraft, they uniformly wore a blue flight suit, but after arriving at the International Space Station, the three astronauts uniformly changed into a new yellow spacesuit, which could not help but make people sigh their intentions, after all, the Ukrainian flag is yellow.
Special viral proteins
Among the personal belongings carried by the three astronauts, there is a special item, that is, "coronavirus protein", speaking of coronavirus everyone is not unfamiliar, such as the new crown virus, SARS virus are affiliated with the coronavirus species, and the virus is composed of multiple parts, such as ordinary coronavirus, which is composed of ribonucleic acid, membrane protein, envelope protein and capsid protein and spike protein, each protein has a different role.
Spike protein
For example, our spike protein, it is simple to say that it is a key, after the human body is infected with the virus, whether it can be successfully infected depends entirely on the key, whether it can open the shrinkage of human cells, such as the new crown virus spike protein, has a strong ability, it can open a variety of cell locks, which also leads to why the new crown virus can quickly infect the human body.
So what is the use of carrying viral proteins into space? In the gravity-free environment of space, many ordinary things are very different from those on Earth, such as drinking water in space, using sealed bags to drink, if you drink water with a straw, it is easy to be drowned. And without gravity, the water is in the shape of water droplets.
Genetic variations
Therefore, a different environment may create different creatures. In the past, ESA had done a biological experiment on the space station, that is, the head of the creature that had always resembled an earthworm was cut off, and after a while, two heads were grown. From this experiment, scientists concluded that in space, microbes develop much faster than on Earth, and whether it is the division of viruses or bacteria, it is several times.
No threats
But what you don't have to worry about is that the astronauts are carrying the "coronavirus nucleocapsid protein", which is the core of the virus, mainly responsible for invading the cell, division, replication and translation, according to 3D Bioprinting Solutions Yousef Khesuani said: This viral protein is loaded in a special container, will not cause leakage, even if the leakage invades the astronaut's body, it will not successfully infect the astronauts. Because it is impossible to invade the human body only by relying on the nucleocapsid, it is necessary to know that only the spike protein is opened to open the human cell lock.
It is reported that the person in charge of the mission said: The coronavirus protein transported this time will stay in space for a month and a half, and then return to Earth from space, and then we will launch new virus proteins into space in the summer and autumn.
This article summarizes
The reason for launching viruses into space is that we want to know more about viruses, how these viruses change in a gravity-free vacuum environment, and after they are subjected to deadly radiation in space. That's all we have to do to better defend against and kill the virus.
On March 18, the virus protein followed Russian astronauts into the International Space Station at the Baikonur launch site in Kazakhstan.