NASA: Black mold delays ISS resupply mission

NASA: Black mold delays ISS resupply mission

In an official statement, NASA confirmed that black mold has delayed the ISS resupply mission. Presently the US space agency is working on identifying the reason behind the black mold, however, the proof they possesses so far has pointed towards Florida’s high humidity levels.

It noticed the black mold on the packing bags that were supposed to be sent to the ISS. The supplies marked the fifth resupply mission using the Orbital ATK.

Dan Hout, official spokesperson for NASA, said that the delay won’t be longer than 14 days. As per Hout, the agency is looking forward to ensure that the entire black mold has been removed and the equipment has been sterilized, prior to sending the craft to the Space Station.

The space agency wants to ensure that all of the mold traces have been removed from the equipment as the fungi can put the health of the astronauts in danger that are presently on the International Space Station. It also wants to ensure that such a problem doesn’t appear again.

NASA has to keep the spores as they have marked the first time in the agency’s history when they had to deal with this type of infestation. Besides, this is also the first time when NASA has to unload cargo for a transporter to be sterilized. However, at least, the circumstances were extraordinary.

Though the delay is of only 14 days, the agency official has no idea at present about how much the incident has affected the SpaceX planned cargo resupply run.