Nasa has confirmed that computer viruses have made it into space, after finding that computers on board the International Space Station were harbouring a malicious worm.

The worm, known as W32.Gammima.AG, was found on laptops used by astronauts to relay e-mail to mission control in Texas. Nasa said that the infected computers were not linked to any of the space station’s control systems or to the internet.

“The bottom line is it is a nuisance for us,” Kelly Humphries, a Nasa spokesman, said. “The crew is working with teams on the ground to eradicate the virus and look for actions to prevent that from happening in the future.”

Mr Humphries said that the virus had no effect on the running of the space station, which orbits 217 miles above the Earth.

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W32.Gammima.AG is described as low risk by Symantec, the online security company, which said that the worm spreads through removable storage devices. This has led to speculation that astronauts introduced the virus onto the space station on a memory stick carrying photographs, music or other data.

The virus lurks on infected computers, monitoring keystrokes and scouring the system for online gaming passwords. Without an internet connection, it would have no way of relaying information it found to its creators.

Gammima.AG was first detected in August last year and appears to have taken nearly a year to escape the Earth’s gravitational pull. It was detected on board the space station on July 25 and immediately quarantined by security software, Nasa said.

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