"The hypothesis, dubbed panspermia, raises the possibility that the earliest forms of life may have originated on other planets, including perhaps Mars, which scientists believe may have once been covered in oceans, lakes, and rivers. A sub-theory, dubbed lithopanspermia, holds that asteroid strikes on other planets may have dislodged surface material back into orbit, allowing microorganisms embedded within the debris to eventually make it to Earth."
"The team found that an "extremophile" microorganism dubbed Deinococcus radiodurans, a bacterium that has previously been shown to be resistant to the extreme conditions of space, could indeed survive "controlled extreme pressures" simulating asteroid impacts. Even after being blasted with 24,000 times the atmospheric pressure exerted by a steel plate while sandwiched between two more steel plates, an astonishing 60 percent of tiny organisms survived."
""The work has significant consequences for considerations of planetary protection, spacecraft mission design, our understanding of where we might find extraterrestrial life, and lithopanspermia," the authors concluded."
Panspermia is a hypothesis suggesting that life's building blocks or microbes may have traveled to Earth on space dust, asteroids, or comets from other planets like Mars. Lithopanspermia, a related theory, proposes that asteroid impacts on other planets could eject surface material containing microorganisms into orbit, potentially reaching Earth. Johns Hopkins University researchers tested whether bacteria could survive such interplanetary journeys by subjecting Deinococcus radiodurans, an extremophile bacterium known for space resistance, to extreme pressures simulating asteroid impacts. Results showed 60 percent survival at 24,000 times atmospheric pressure and nearly 10 percent at 30,000 times atmospheric pressure, suggesting microorganisms could potentially survive panspermia scenarios and informing planetary protection and spacecraft design considerations.
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