Experts have long talked about the different bacteria that exist, their effects, and how long they remain active. There is one that has become popular through research, it is called radio-resistant Deinococcus. This bacterium has demonstrated its ability to withstand years in space.
According to a study published by Frontiers in Microbiology, a group of Japanese scientists, discovered that colonies of Deinococcus bacteria can survive a flight of several years in harsh space conditions.
In this regard, Dr. Yuko Yamagishi, a professor at the University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences, and his team reached this conclusion by placing dried aggregates of Deinococcus in exhibition panels outside the International Space Station (ISS), within the so-called Tanpopo mission.
The results suggest that radio-resistant Deinococcus could survive during the journey from Earth to Mars and vice versa, which is several months or years in the shortest orbit. This turns out to be the first long-term spatial study to raise the possibility that bacteria can survive in space as aggregates.
Regarding everything, it is known that some bacteria can survive in outer space; but the hypothesis that they can survive long space travel had not been confirmed … This is what this research is all about.
The success of the experiment became a strong argument in favor of the Panspermia hypothesis, which suggests that life could have arrived on Earth from another planet. Panspermia is a theory that implies that bacteria would survive the long journey through outer space, resisting the space vacuum, temperature fluctuations and space radiation.
In the constant exploration of the stratosphere, the scientists discovered that at an altitude of 12 kilometers above the Earth, despite the powerful solar radiation, this bacterium survives, measuring only between 1.5 and 3.5 nanometers in diameter.
Imagine, it was found 70 years ago, during an experiment to sterilize food using radiation. The action of the bacteria caused the meat to rot even after being subjected to a high dose of gamma rays that killed all other microorganisms. Deinococcus bacteria can survive a dose of 5,000 grays, while for a human a fatal dose is equivalent to only 5 grays.
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