SpaceX Inspiration4 Crew Microbiome Swabs from Ten Body Sites Pre-, In-, and Post-Flight

Microbial swab samples from the SpaceX Inspiration4 mission's four private astronauts, collected from ten oral, nasal, and skin body sites. The samples were taken at eight timepoints before, during, and after the 3-day low Earth orbit mission in September 2021. DNA and RNA were extracted to generate paired metagenomic and metatranscriptomic profiles, with nuclease-free water controls sequenced alongside.

Use Cases

• Modeling temporal microbiome shifts based on pre-, in-, and post-flight sampling at eight timepoints
• Comparing microbial community composition and activity (metagenomic vs. metatranscriptomic) across ten distinct body sites
• Analyzing the impact of spaceflight on skin, oral, and nasal microbiota based on swabs from four astronauts
• Investigating technical variation using sequenced nuclease-free water control samples mentioned in the description

Strengths

• Paired metagenomic and metatranscriptomic data from the same swab, enabling functional activity analysis
• Longitudinal design with eight collection timepoints spanning pre-flight, in-flight, and post-flight phases
• Samples from ten distinct anatomical locations provide site-specific microbial profiles
• Includes sequenced control samples (nuclease-free water) for technical background assessment

Limitations

• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Data is stored in BIN format, which may require specialized tools for access and interpretation

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Biospecimen collection from four private astronauts during the SpaceX Inspiration4 mission, with swabs stored in DNA/RNA Shield until nucleic acid extraction.

Time Range

Samples collected around the September 2021 mission, with specific timepoints L-92, L-44, L 3, FD2, FD3, R+1, R+45, R+82.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 20:04:50.352757; freshness should be verified

Geography

Samples collected from astronauts in low Earth orbit and on Earth; specific terrestrial collection location is not specified.