What I always wondered, how can you prevent “rediscovering” species you brought from earth? I think there is bacteria that can survive on the outside of space shuttles, right?
This is actually a problem that space agencies approach already! Any time they’re sending something to potentially life-harbouring locations. I believe that baking it is the standard solution
I’m only guessing here, but I would assume that sampling the output of geysers rather than actually accessing the underground sea also helps with this. It sounds a lot less difficult too, but I imagine that a reduced chance of contaminating the water is an extra benefit
I guess it is especially difficult, as they find basic amino acids or other “proto-organic” material in space… But yeah, I am sure they address this and haven’t just forgotten about it ;)
Fair question, I would suspect that anything that is also on Earth doesn’t count. Because the chances of it evolving exactly like Earth is 0.
Finding something that is related to a common ancestor on our planet would be interesting however, since it is proof that bacteria could survive being launched into space.
What I always wondered, how can you prevent “rediscovering” species you brought from earth? I think there is bacteria that can survive on the outside of space shuttles, right?
This is actually a problem that space agencies approach already! Any time they’re sending something to potentially life-harbouring locations. I believe that baking it is the standard solution
I’m only guessing here, but I would assume that sampling the output of geysers rather than actually accessing the underground sea also helps with this. It sounds a lot less difficult too, but I imagine that a reduced chance of contaminating the water is an extra benefit
I guess it is especially difficult, as they find basic amino acids or other “proto-organic” material in space… But yeah, I am sure they address this and haven’t just forgotten about it ;)
Fair question, I would suspect that anything that is also on Earth doesn’t count. Because the chances of it evolving exactly like Earth is 0.
Finding something that is related to a common ancestor on our planet would be interesting however, since it is proof that bacteria could survive being launched into space.