NASA discovered bacteria that wouldn’t die. Now it’s boosting sunscreen.

Many people associate NASA with exploring new worlds in space, but few know it’s also finding new microscopic ecosystems right here. Years ago, Kasthuri Venkateswaran, a scientist who decontaminates spacecraft bound for Mars, found a curious microorganism on the end of his swab. The bacteria, which he named bacillus pumilus, was so resilient, the usual cleaning solutions — ultraviolet light…