4 ms·

I've heard a few times today how radiation will peel the paint off the car. Shouldn't that also sanitize it pretty thoroughly?

Zardoz84 9y ago
You could be surprise how resilient are the microbes against the harsh conditions of space.
- NathanKP 9y ago
  Yep these things can actually survive in the vacuum of space as well as go without food or water for 30 years: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tardigrade https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tardigrade
  - Balgair 9y ago
    For other readers: yes the Tardigrade is likely to be resistant to the extreme radiation of the Mars-Earth voyage.
    - pbhjpbhj 9y ago
      They'll be surfing the mycelial network before we know it :/
  - dpkonofa 9y ago
    Yeah, but you're not going to find those in the stitching of a leather Tesla Roadster seat.
biggerfisch 9y ago
Some bacteria can survive very high levels of radiation. For example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deinococcus_radiodurans https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deinococcus_radiodurans
godelski 9y ago
There's enough places for microbes to hide from radiation. On that short of a mission it wouldn't be surprising to see microbes. There are various microbes that can withstand the nominal radiation there. Would be much harder to survive the Van Allen belts and CMEs, but it is possible. If we were talking about a 100 year mission, that would be more surprising. Even hardy microbes don't like extended stays in vacuums and have to go into a hibernation state. There are bacteria that can survive for decades in a vacuum and low temperatures. Disclaimer: not a biologist
- notatoad 9y ago
  >On that short of a mission how short? because i thought the timeline we're talking about is that the Roadster is not going to run into any planet for as long as they've run simulations for, but it's theoretically possible that it might, at some point, hit something.
dpkonofa 9y ago
I would imagine that the lack of any kind of food source for bacteria, freezing cold temperatures, and space radiation should be enough to sanitize the vehicle from anything from earth. We're not talking about organisms that thrive at the depths of the ocean or tardigrades (although I'm sure someone will bring them up). We're talking about molds and bacterias that grow in warm, damp places like car seats and dirty human crevices. I would be surprised if they lasted out there and would be giddy if it survived long enough to grow further. That's an experiment, right there.

Zardoz84 9y ago

You could be surprise how resilient are the microbes against the harsh conditions of space.

NathanKP 9y ago
Yep these things can actually survive in the vacuum of space as well as go without food or water for 30 years: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tardigrade https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tardigrade
- Balgair 9y ago
  For other readers: yes the Tardigrade is likely to be resistant to the extreme radiation of the Mars-Earth voyage.
  - pbhjpbhj 9y ago
    They'll be surfing the mycelial network before we know it :/
- dpkonofa 9y ago
  Yeah, but you're not going to find those in the stitching of a leather Tesla Roadster seat.

biggerfisch 9y ago

Some bacteria can survive very high levels of radiation. For example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deinococcus_radiodurans https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deinococcus_radiodurans

godelski 9y ago

There's enough places for microbes to hide from radiation. On that short of a mission it wouldn't be surprising to see microbes. There are various microbes that can withstand the nominal radiation there. Would be much harder to survive the Van Allen belts and CMEs, but it is possible. If we were talking about a 100 year mission, that would be more surprising. Even hardy microbes don't like extended stays in vacuums and have to go into a hibernation state. There are bacteria that can survive for decades in a vacuum and low temperatures. Disclaimer: not a biologist

notatoad 9y ago
>On that short of a mission how short? because i thought the timeline we're talking about is that the Roadster is not going to run into any planet for as long as they've run simulations for, but it's theoretically possible that it might, at some point, hit something.

dpkonofa 9y ago

I would imagine that the lack of any kind of food source for bacteria, freezing cold temperatures, and space radiation should be enough to sanitize the vehicle from anything from earth. We're not talking about organisms that thrive at the depths of the ocean or tardigrades (although I'm sure someone will bring them up). We're talking about molds and bacterias that grow in warm, damp places like car seats and dirty human crevices. I would be surprised if they lasted out there and would be giddy if it survived long enough to grow further. That's an experiment, right there.