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Tiny Worms Survive Shuttle Crash

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the not-so-terminal-velocity dept.

John H. Doe writes "According to CNet, tiny worms kept in special aluminum canisters aboard the space shuttle Columbia (which broke apart in the atmosphere back in Feb. 1, 2003) survived their fall to earth. The small (about 1mm long) soil roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans was found alive in four or five of the recovered canisters, after an impact 2,295 times the force of Earth's gravity."

9 of 46 comments (clear)

  1. Whuh? by wwest4 · · Score: 3, Insightful


    It shows directly that even complex small creatures originating on one planet could survive landing on another without the protection of a spacecraft."


    Do I even need to say why that is specious? Um, OK: They were in canisters and they rode in a shuttle for part of re-entry.

    I'm not saying panspermia's infeasible, but this event is not particularly compelling, given the circumstances.

    1. Re:Whuh? by NitsujTPU · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Eh, that claim is ok. They're not saying that the life forms could survive the journey through space... just a landing. They aren't even making claims that they could survive re-entry.

      Yes, however, if you take it as justification of theories regarding panspermia, you would need much more evidence to back other claims.

  2. I could have sworn... by Drakin · · Score: 3, Informative

    Yeah, the story's been run before.

    http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=03/05/0 1/1134217&mode=thread&tid=134&tid=160

  3. This is rather old by Capt'n+Hector · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I hate to spoil the party, but this was news around April, 2003. This isn't really a source, but if you think about it, it's about as infallible as you can get. Behold, a Google Cache of a weblog I wrote at that time, the server of which doesn't really exist anymore. It was back in the time of Chimera before it became Camino, back when RSS was cool. But of course don't take my word, I'm sure someone else can furnish a true news source to back this up...

    --
    Quid festinatio swallonis est aetherfuga inonusti?
    Africus aut Europaeus?
  4. Tiny Worms Survive Shuttle Crash! by cffrost · · Score: 4, Funny


    *Whew!* What a relief!

    That mission wasn't such a disaster afterall!

    --
    Thank you, Edward Snowden.

    "Arguments from authority are worthless." —Carl Sagan
  5. So? by gellenburg · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It's not like worms have any bones to break, or complex brain structures that would suffer life-threatening subdural hematomas upon impact.

    Besides, the worms were packed in loose soil offering cushioning upon impact, and have very low oxygen requirements compared to humans.

  6. Four or five? by Pretor · · Score: 5, Funny

    Is it to much to ask of our researchers that they manage to count to at least 5?

    When they found the canisters did they count like a child? What comes first? One. And then? Two. And then? Three. And then? Four or five, I'm not sure.

    1. Re:Four or five? by thegarbageman · · Score: 4, Funny

      Wouldn't they be both alive *and* dead? Schroedinger's Worm?

      --
      "I propose we leave math to the machines and go play outside." - Calvin
  7. Re:How hard did they fall? by Khyron · · Score: 3, Informative

    Seriously, this was my first thought reading this as well. Not only does that figure seem to completely ignore the likely terminal velocity of the canister, I'm betting it supposes an inelastic collision. I'm sorry, did the can of worms land on an extremely large plate of hardened titanium? No, it probably landed in dirt someplace...