Microbial dynamics across commercial spaceflights of varying duration
Abstract
Spaceflight introduces environmental stressors that can alter human microbiomes and immune responses. We analyzed 259 and 17 biospecimens for microbiome and single-cell studies from n = 6 astronauts across two commercial International Space Station (ISS) missions: Axiom 2 (10-day mission) and Axiom 3 (21-day mission). Samples included saliva, stool, urine, and body swabs from 10 anatomical sites, profiled via 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene amplicon sequencing. Gut and oral microbiomes remained stable, while skin-associated communities exhibited transient diversity shifts post-flight. Taxonomic analysis revealed individual and site-specific patterns, as well as from the spaceflight/ISS environment. Cytokine profiling from single-cell data indicated immune activation, with IL-32 and IL-16 transcripts elevated in Axiom 2 and Axiom 3. Microbiome and interleukin correlation analyses found 14 significant associations in Axiom 2 data. These findings provide an integrated view of microbiome individuality. Our study represents a descriptive comparison of two missions, informing strategies for crew health on future long-duration missions.
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BibTeX
@article{krishnavajhala2026microbial,
title = {{Microbial dynamics across commercial spaceflights of varying duration}},
author = {Aparna Krishnavajhala and Marie-Claude Gingras and Tasha M. Santiago-Rodriguez and Yi Chen and Dilrukshi Bandaranaike and Sravya Bhamidipati and Xiang Qin and Kavya Kottapalli and Zeineen Momin and Abirami Santhanam and Kimberly Walker and Qiaoyan Wang and S. Michelle Griffin and Michal M. Masternak and Matthew C. Ross and Donna Muzny and Jimmy Wu and Emmanuel Urquieta and Richard A. Gibbs and Harsha Doddapaneni},
journal = {iScience},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.isci.2026.117988},
url = {https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(26)03371-7},
note = {CC BY-NC 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Microbial dynamics across commercial spaceflights of varying duration
AU - Aparna Krishnavajhala
AU - Marie-Claude Gingras
AU - Tasha M. Santiago-Rodriguez
AU - Yi Chen
AU - Dilrukshi Bandaranaike
AU - Sravya Bhamidipati
AU - Xiang Qin
AU - Kavya Kottapalli
AU - Zeineen Momin
AU - Abirami Santhanam
AU - Kimberly Walker
AU - Qiaoyan Wang
AU - S. Michelle Griffin
AU - Michal M. Masternak
AU - Matthew C. Ross
AU - Donna Muzny
AU - Jimmy Wu
AU - Emmanuel Urquieta
AU - Richard A. Gibbs
AU - Harsha Doddapaneni
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/23
JO - iScience
DO - 10.1016/j.isci.2026.117988
UR - https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(26)03371-7
AB - Spaceflight introduces environmental stressors that can alter human microbiomes and immune responses. We analyzed 259 and 17 biospecimens for microbiome and single-cell studies from n = 6 astronauts across two commercial International Space Station (ISS) missions: Axiom 2 (10-day mission) and Axiom 3 (21-day mission). Samples included saliva, stool, urine, and body swabs from 10 anatomical sites, profiled via 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene amplicon sequencing. Gut and oral microbiomes remained stable, while skin-associated communities exhibited transient diversity shifts post-flight. Taxonomic analysis revealed individual and site-specific patterns, as well as from the spaceflight/ISS environment. Cytokine profiling from single-cell data indicated immune activation, with IL-32 and IL-16 transcripts elevated in Axiom 2 and Axiom 3. Microbiome and interleukin correlation analyses found 14 significant associations in Axiom 2 data. These findings provide an integrated view of microbiome individuality. Our study represents a descriptive comparison of two missions, informing strategies for crew health on future long-duration missions.
SN - 2589-0042
ER -