Panspermia is the hypothesis that life might be prevalent throughout the galaxy due to the “seeding” of living organisms via object collisions and/or meteorite deposits. It is the hypothesis that contends that life on Earth may have its origin on some other planet. And, as one physicist notes, the idea of panspermia may get tested with the first interstellar probes to be launched to explore the nearest exoplanet.
Jeff Kuhn, a physicist at the University of Hawaii, believes that Breakthrough Starshot, a project to which he is an adviser, may offer an opportunity to actually test the feasibility of interstellar panspermia. He thinks that an experiment could be conducted by placing spores of extremely resilient bacteria on board the first interstellar probes.
“I think it would be fun, on one of these disposable chips,” Kuhn said, “to put a little colony of Bacillus, send it for 20 years, turn it on, give it some nutrients and see if it’s still alive, just to experimentally decide whether or not panspermia works over interstellar distances.”
The bacteria of which Kuhn spoke, the species Bacillus subtilis, has been found to be able to survive at least six years after exposure to outer space.
All the more reason for the ETs to swat these little flies. To read more, click here.