space.com — Derelict rocket stages that propelled four spacecraft toward the edges of our solar system and beyond are likely carrying Earthly bacteria out into the galaxy. "The upper stages were not required to be sterilized," said John Rummel, senior scientist for astrobiology at NASA. There was just one big directive:
May 9, 2007 View in Crawl 4
diggsitMay 10, 2007
Somebody, borrowed their only ladder.
Closed AccountMay 10, 2007
What if it explodes on takeoff?
huntertvMay 10, 2007
IM IN YR ROCKETS GIVING YR ALIENS HEADCOLDS
transitionsMay 10, 2007
Yeah, but what happens if the whole thing falls into a worm hole / time warp and (after a few million years to evolve into something else) lands back on earth!
Closed AccountMay 10, 2007
the article says that the *lower* stages were the only ones sterilized; and *not* the probe itselfwhy would you bother only sterilizing the parts that don't even leave earth?
answer42May 10, 2007
@transitionsWhoaaa. What if...what if that already happened? Like, what if that was how life started on earth? Wow, man, pass me the bong dude.
Closed AccountMay 10, 2007
In dormant stage there are many organisms which can withstand the vacuum and cold of space, including tardigrades, but being more complex than bacteria they're more vulnerable to the radiation. They're also much larger (speck-of-dust sized) and less likely to accidentally find their way onto a spacecraft. Antarctic tardigrades, nematodes, rotifers and mites, plus the algae they feed on, might however be good candidates if we wish to bring life to Mars. Perhaps not so sexy, as terraforming go, but you've got to start somewhere.
alkyMay 10, 2007
No kidding. The argument goes something like:IF the bacteria survive the million-year-long trip andIF they ever hit something andIF it happens to be habitable to the bacteria (not a star or a comet or an asteroid or ...) andIF the bacteria survive re-entry at interstellar speeds andTHEN ... you know what, this is so unlikely there's no reason to talk about it at all
jason13086May 13, 2007
What exactly do they mean by 'sterilized'? Do you really think that the rovers on mars didn't carry ANY microrganisms? I mean, they can do their best, but I just cant believe something didn't catch a ride...