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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."
If they need more test subjects, my shower walls have plenty of fungus to donate.
Bury me in mashed potatoes.
I thought panspermia came from flute playing goats.
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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?
John
Sounds like a neat theory, but it'd have to be an absolutely killer climax to have it hit escape velocity. I can't usually get more than 7-8 feet of distance even on a pent-up, high-pressure day.
But not much, 2 weeks doesn't even get you to Mars... I thought most of the theories of life coming from other planets were based around elements being embedded inside rocks etc rather than being directly exposed to space.
But it is nice to see Europe continuing to treat Space as a learning experience rather than a PR stunt.
An Eye for an Eye will make the whole world blind - Gandhi
I for one, welcome out new space-faring algae lichens. As a D&D player I've seen what regular lich can do, but I was unaware of their resistances to space. I truely am scared and confused.
FTA:
"Lichens have a tough mineral coating that could shield them from UV rays. They are also made from individual organisms layered on top of one another, so outer layers may provide protection for underlying cells. The organisms have already been shown to be capable of withstand high levels of UV radiation on Earth."
This is interesting, I wonder how well they the outer layers could protect things below? Would it be possible to use some lichen in a pinch to make a repair to part of a ship? Could this be the poor mans self-replicating nano robot patch kit?
I have no idea about these things, just an interesting prospect, I think.
Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind. - Dr. Seus
"Up to two weeks?"
No, "At *least* two weeks". They were exposed for 15 days and were unchanged.
Lichen and spores are sure durable; I wouldn't be surprised if they could survive basically indefinitely in a cold vacuum.
...how much better can this stuff fare in the thin atmosphere of Mars? Time to start terraforming!
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Even if a lichen or lower life form could survive for a time in the vacuum of space (with some form of protection from radiation and in hibernation mode), could it really survive the intense heat from the friction of earth's atmosphere? I've heard of extremophiles, but...
Question: How long can a human stay in space without a space suit?
Answer: Almost indefinitely <evil grin>
Everybody Lies. But it doesn't matter since nobody listens.
This space lichen corpse tastes terrible! You finish eating the space lichen corpse.
Q: What did the comedian say to the crowd?
A: If I knew, this joke would be funny.
From answers.com citing the American Heritage Dictionary,
... no hint of interplanetary relations by the root words.
the etymology of panspermia:
Greek panspermia;, mixture of all seeds : pan-, pan- + sperma, seed
And yet the lichens die pretty easily, even with a plain +0 pickaxe or short sword. Their corpses stay good indefinitely though, which is helpful when I'm playing with a vegetarian or vegan #conduct.
Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum sonatur.
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.
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
They likely brought it into space in order to determine whether or not it could survive not just in a vaccuum, but also under these conditions, all at the same time:
* Vaccuum. (Of course.)
* Assorted forms of radiation.
* Zero gravity.
* Extremes of temperature.
Those conditions tend not to support life from Earth, and so to see that lichen can indeed survive in space, if only for a short time, is astounding. Not only does this add weight to the panspermia theory, but it also could stand to change our take on the 'qualifications' for a habitable environment completely, raising questions such as, "Could it be possible for more complex organisms to actually thrive in space?"
I for one welcome our moldy overlords.
geez you guys are supposed to be geeks, right? Well get the details right, that would be a symbiois not a composite! And i thought anything close to "symbiont" would warm the cockles of your geeky trekkie hearts...
Oh wait...
...both interiorlly, and exteriorlly.
pffft that's nothing, I've survived in space for over 30 years. ohhhhh, OUTERspace
Has a great article, with pertty pictures and diagrams, regarding panspermia
I D=1&articleID=00073A97-5745-1359-94FF83414B7F0000
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa006&col
"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."
2 0soldier%20lichen.jpg
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%
He who knows best knows how little he knows. - Thomas Jefferson
So, The Terrible Secret of Space is... athlete's foot? That was sort of anticlimactic.
Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?
Well it's never going to die if you keep CHECKING ON IT...15 days in space...shesh.
"Love is like pi - natural, irrational, and very important." (Lisa Hoffman)
... er scientist...
... if it's supposed to. The whole thing's planned, y'know.
Of COURSE panspermia is possible. Life can easily travel in space.
...it goes on forever. And...Oh my God!...It's full of lichens!
No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
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.
What the hell was that? Hmmm... space herpes!
... This ship has space herpes?
- Reentry heat (need to be inside a big rock or something)
- Boredom. Lichens are fairly uncontemplative creatures, however.
sigs, as if you care.
Didn't you see the amount of rock shooting off into space after the Death Star blew up Alderaan? Let's not forget all of the test shots they would have done before that.
Also, we can't forget that it could have been on pieces of the ringworld from Halo.
The experiment adds weight to the theory of panspermia - that life could somehow be transported between planets.
I'll believe that as soon as they finish the experiments that show lichen's ability to survive entry into the atmosphere.
I am scientifically inaccurate.
"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.
How pathetic are you that you follow me from topic to topic and waste all your mod points at once modding me down?
Substances like water, carbon, and oxygen are neat because they seem to be the most condusive to forming complex substances that make up the organic components of the bodies of living things. It's silly to think that there aren't living things that can exist without water, though. Or carbon. Or oxygen.
Theories about the possible environments wherein living things could exist are endless. Looking at the extremophilic algae and tube worms - That was the name you were looking for, I believe - here on Earth, we could see similar creatures living in the hot, highly acidic, CO2 rich environments of Venus. Lichens and other organisms tailored to exist only on the essentials, on the other hand, could thrive - and may actually exist - on Mars. (And if Mars was once like Earth, that theory certainly takes off, doesn't it?) Of course, those schools of thought only support organisms akin to the ones that exist here on Earth.
Meanwhile, the moons of Jupiter and Saturn provide a plethora of environments known to support life on Earth in some cases, but there are also theories that organisms could exist in the extreme cold of some of these celestial bodies by catalyzing acetylene and other volatile substances at extremely slow rates. If that theory were to pan out, then the idea of 'ice creatures from outer space' might not be too far off - and possibly a springboard for dozens of cheesy new sci-fi movies. (It'd certainly beat Spielburg's take on 'War of the Worlds'.)
While we're discussing theoretical models for living things unlike those that exist here on Earth, let's take a look at what we're made of - that all-important element carbon, I'm no chemistry expert, but doesn't boron nitride behave in a remarkably similar fashion to carbon? What about the possibility of a boron-based group of organisms? Or maybe plants and animals composed of different substances entirely? When one begins to consider the possibilities, it becomes immediately evident that they are indeed virtually endless.
The void of space may indeed host living things. Other worlds thought to be uninhabitable may also support life as well. I agree that it'd be pretty silly to disregard that possibility until we can conclusively prove that life simply can't thrive in these environments. Heck, maybe there's some kind of lichen out in some nebula somewhere, feeding off of plasma... Who knows.
I don't want to know what kind of flute that goat-man is playing.
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.
I want to drag this out as long as possible. Bring me my protractor.
My biology teacher told me that life was designed by an intelligent designer who can do anything. If he wanted lichen to sprout rocket engines and fly between the stars he could do that too. That's why science is a pointless subject to study and I'll just get back to my cow tipping here in Kansas...
Oh, great - so my space ship will need anti-fouling to keep space barnacles from growing on it...
Will space barnacles and space weed slow a space ship down? Maybe if it gets stuck in the subspace propeller, or fouls the plasma intake manifold...
Oh well, what the hell...
Electron microscopic image of the lichen after the flight.
There's a hidden treasure in Python 3.x: __prepare__()
The fact that chimpanzee DNA is so similar to humans is incontrovertible proof that the two species descended from a common ancestor.
What if the Aliens did the 'nasty' with the monkies?
"I am the king of the Romans, and am superior to rules of grammar!"
-Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor (1368-1437)
Terrestrial bacteria were found to have survived for three years of lunar exposure. Apollo 12 Commander Pete Conrad who retrieved the camera from which these bacteria were cultured thinks this discovery is the, "most significant thing that we ever found," in the entire Apollo program.
p 98_1.htm
http://science.nasa.gov/newhome/headlines/ast01se
Put my fist through my alarm clock with its ding-dong death inside my ear. - The Blackjacks.
I would hazard to guess the odds of ejecta striking another planet at much worse than 1:1,000,000. Be that as it may, if I were given a gun that could shoot 1 billion bullets in the stadium, and I fired those bullets randomly while blindfolded, I would be very surprised Not to have hit the target a few decades later when I expended all of my bullets. Just the same with the example of a planet ejecting material over the millenia. It is highly unlikely for any one rock to hit anything, however the odds of one out of an astronomical number of rocks to hit another planet becomes significantly more plausible.
Some forms of lichen can be used as a towel in an emergency.
Free Software: Like love, it grows best when given away.
Lichen are tough. We all knew that. What we didn't know was how tough - this is incredible news. 15 days exposed in LEO and the samples were still viable? That indicates, to me, that lichen not only "happen" to be able to survive in space, but that the base organism evolved in space and transported to Earth continually until conditions allowed it to survive here. The description of lichen as protected by minerals in exo would indicate that they are capable of forming protected mats and still photosynthesize. The abstract didn't cover it all, did the lichen hibernate or photosynthesize? I'm not sure, but the basic survival fact is huge evidence in support of panspermia, universal left-handed chirality and biology as a basic element of the universe.
Photos from Mars show patches of greenish-brown and blue-green on rocks, cliffs and in low-lying (higher pressure) regions. The Deep Impact mission showed almost 1/3rd the mass of the comet as carbonaceous material, the researchers claim it is prebiotic. Photos from both Viking I (Gil Levin photo) and both MER rovers show "fuzzy" greenish rocks and fine filamented structures. If lichen survive in open space, they would be that much more at home in a fluffy growing medium that contains lots of water, and with a few archaea in the mix would produce exactly the compounds found in comet Tempel 1.
I've always agreed with the tenets of panspermia, the last few months of space science has convinced me. There is life out there, and a lot of it.
Josh
Fun note: the craft that flew the BIOPAN experiment is a Foton capsule, a direct decendant of the capsule Yuri Gagarin flew in. It is a round metal ball with a donut of equipment on the back and some antennae, same layout with somewhat newer gear.
gigantino.tv - Heavy but weighs nothing.
Only an intelligent designer could have calculated the trajectories and orbits necessary to spread life between planets. Especially given the limited computers available at the time of creation.
Vuja De: That sinking feeling that this is going to happen again. Often occurs in meetings with Product Managers.
So, God created life on another planet and then had to blast it to Earth on an asteroid or comet????
I'm so confused!
Read any good sonnets lately?
The standard evolutionary model says that Earth had a bunch of Primordial Soup that cooked for hundreds of millions of years until some of it did stuff that was interesting enough to photosynthesize, which started radically changing the chemistry of the planet's atmosphere and the Soup until more of it started doing more interesting stuff and eventually it was interesting enough that we can declare that "It's Alive!" The probability that stars will have planets, and that they'll have the right conditions to let this happen (temperature, available atomic mixtures, gravity, etc.) are pretty low, and people who like to speculate about how heavily populated the universe is and when we'll find aliens come up with estimates like Drake's Equation to try to guess how rare we are.
Interplanetary Panspermia suggests that not only did Earth have to have the right mixture of chemicals and temperature/pressure conditions in the Primordial Soup for all this to happen, but that Mars or maybe Venus also had to have a (presumably different) batch of soup cooking that had either become Alive or else pretty close, and something had to cause a Big Splash to get some Martian Soup mixed in with the Earth Soup at a time that both of them were in the right conditions. If the Earth had been running too far ahead or behind in time, or the Big Splash hadn't happened at the right time or hadn't been big enough, then the Martians would have been told No Soup For You, Next Billion Years , Earth wouldn't have been alive, and Mars would have done the Cosmic Wimpout without us evolving to see it today. Drake's Equation looks much more dodgy under those assumptions. If that's what it takes for life to evolve, I don't expect any space aliens to show up any time soon.
Interplanetary Panspermia doesn't really solve any problems about how life could have evolved, though I suppose it *could* have happened, but it seems much less likely than Earth's Primordial Soup doing the job on its own. Interstellar Panspermia seems much much less likely to me, for reasons I noted above. There's a huge amount of stellar evolution that had to happen just to get the right elements into the Solar System, since some of them only get formed inside supernovae or similar stars. Friendly Space Aliens deliberately seeding the place begs the question of how *they* evolved, but strikes me as no less likely than Interstellar Panspermia happening by accident. You'd think they'd have also left a message, but maybe they were just shooting stuff out at likely stars on spec, hoping that something would work even if they weren't around four billion years later when we were ready to Phone Home, or maybe they really *are* hanging around on the Dark Side of the Moon working on the next chapter of their cookbook before they drop in for a visit.
Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks