Space Lichens

moon_monkey writes "According to a report lichens - a composite of algae and fungi - can survive in space for up to two weeks. An experiment carried out by the European Space Agency saw two species of lichen carried into orbit and then exposed to the vacuum of space for nearly 15 days. These are the most complex form of life now known to have survived prolonged exposure to space. The experiment adds weight to the theory of panspermia - that life could somehow be transported between planets."

Comments

Already done with mold

[plover]

I think they already did this experiment under another name: MIR. My understanding is the primary reason they brought MIR down rather than rehabilitate it was the presence of mold that they could not kill using means that weren't also toxic to the cosmonauts.

They didn't describe the details of the flight. Was this a mission to the ISS? If so, I wonder how much risk they took by "opening" the box in the presence of the station? Could they have infected it with lichens, or more likely with "tramp mold" spores that may have accompanied the lichens?

Re:Already done with mold

[Gabe Garza]

Not the same thing. The mold you're talking about in MIR would have been in the crew compartment, which, unless there's something I don't know about Russians, wouldn't have been a vacuum. The lichens discussed in the article were in a sealed container that, once the craft was in space, was opened. So they were completely exposed to the vacuum of space.

Etymology of "panspermia" ... aren't YOU curious?

[Anonymous Coward]

From answers.com citing the American Heritage Dictionary,
the etymology of panspermia:
Greek panspermia;, mixture of all seeds : pan-, pan- + sperma, seed
... no hint of interplanetary relations by the root words.

That's Not What the Article Said

[Greyfox]

The article states that the lichens were exposed to space for 2 weeks and were fine after that. The summary implies that 2 weeks is the upper limit for survival of the lichens. Those are two rather different outcomes.

What I get from this is that lichens can survive for an undetermined amount of time in space. Assuming they can survive reentry, a rock from Earth could potentially deliver lichens to Mars or elsewhere.

Latest Issue of Scientific American

[leather_helmet]

Has a great article, with pertty pictures and diagrams, regarding panspermia

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa006&colI D=1&articleID=00073A97-5745-1359-94FF83414B7F0000

I liken this lichen is alien

[digitaldc]

"Lichens grow in the leftover spots of the natural world that are too harsh or limited for most other organisms. They are pioneers on bare rock, desert sand, cleared soil , dead wood, animal bones, rusty metal, and living bark. Able to shut down metabolically during periods of unfavorable conditions, they can survive extremes of heat, cold, and drought."

From: http://www.lichen.com/biology.html

They tend to thrive in unfavorable conditions, maybe there could be Lichen on Mars if it had a more stable atmosphere? They could also survive on a rusty hull of a space ship, so the panspermia theory is not too far off.

British Soldier Lichen is also very beautiful:
http://www.buenavistatownship.org/Photos/British%2 0soldier%20lichen.jpg

Re:Feasibility of Panspermia

[tm2b]

What I've never understood about that theory, though, is how the life forms got off their home planet and onto an interstellar-bound rock.

Via ejecta, large pieces of debris that are thrown off the planet from meteor strikes. That's the significance of the Mars rocks found in the Antarctic tundra.

If you've got life floating around in your atmosphere, it might not even require ejecta but instead just near collisions with porous asteroids passing through the upper atmosphere.

Re:Etymology of "panspermia" ... aren't YOU curiou

[ndansmith]

Indeed, the Greek adjectives allos or allotrios ("another" and "alien; foreign" respectively) may serve better in this place. Perhaps the meaning has changed due to the context of the conversation. The theory of "panspermia" would deal with how all life was "seeded." An extraterrestrial source is an option of "panspermia" I suppose.

Re:Lightweight idea

[flyinwhitey]

"Organisms in small asteroids would be incinerated in earth's atmosphere"

No, you're wrong.

"As it falls through 80 km, it loses 3 to 6 mm of surface mass per second through ablation. The melted material and metal, heated to over 1800 C, is being swept away from the meteoroid, carrying away the accumulating surface heat so efficiently that the interior remains cool."

That was from meteorlab.com. Look it up so that next time you won't be spreading incorrect information.

You want to see if...

[sczimme]

Now that we know lichens can survive exposed to the harsh conditions of space, how about we try it with Karl Rove?

You want to see if the lichens can survive exposed to the harsh conditions of Karl Rove? That's just mean... to the lichens.

PS Eeewwww.

Microscopic image of the lichen after the flight

[YA_Python_dev]

Electron microscopic image of the lichen after the flight.

Re:panspermia

[SETIGuy]

2.3 Kelvin? I thought it was closer to 3?

He must be from the future. Today the microwave background is 2.73K. Wait 2.5 billion years and it'll be 2.3K.

That said, in interstellar space the radiation field is a significantly higher temperature than that. 50-100K or so might be more typical within the galaxy.