#planetary-protection

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#extraterrestrial-life #panspermia #extremophile-bacteria #mars-missions #contamination #nasa #asteroid-impacts
OMG science
fromFuturism
2 months ago

Scientists Find Microbes Can Survive Traveling from Planet to Planet While Clinging to Asteroids

Extremophile bacteria can survive extreme pressures simulating asteroid impacts, supporting the possibility that microorganisms could travel between planets via panspermia.
OMG science
fromwww.scientificamerican.com
2 months ago

Blast off! Martian microbes might travel between worlds on asteroid-impact debris

Deinococcus radiodurans, an extremophile bacterium, can survive extreme pressures from asteroid impacts on Mars, suggesting potential for microbial life dispersal across the solar system.
Science
fromFuturism
2 months ago

If Scientists Ever Find Strong Evidence of Alien Life, Communicating It Will Pose Serious Issues

Communicating a confirmed detection of extraterrestrial life will be extremely difficult due to ambiguous data, cultural preconceptions, moral and religious implications, and public fear.
Science
fromwww.theguardian.com
4 months ago

Patches of the moon to become spacecraft graveyards, say researchers

Concentrated lunar crash sites will accumulate defunct satellites, risking damage to scientific instruments, historic sites, and future lunar infrastructure.
fromwww.scientificamerican.com
8 months ago

Bacteria in Spacecraft Clean Rooms Are Almost Impossible to Kill

That's important because other clean-room survivors had been known to live through disinfection by forming spores, which are thick-walled structures that protect bacteria from high temperatures or toxins such as ethanol. The actinobacterium Tersicoccus phoenicis can't form these spores, but a new study published in the journal Microbiology Spectrum shows that it can go into a state similar to hibernation. In this state, it has no growth and almost no metabolism but has the ability to wake up when conditions improve.
Science
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