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We find rocks from the Moon and from Mars[0] on earth, and have reason to believe that small pieces of rock travel from most inner solar system bodies to most o
by perlgeek 7y ago
We find rocks from the Moon and from Mars[0] on earth, and have reason to believe that small pieces of rock travel from most inner solar system bodies to most others.
I find it totally believable that some micro organisms could survive the ride on such rocks and possibly thrive on other bodies, if the environment is suitable.
[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martian_meteorite https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martian_meteorite
- pvaldes 7y agoRocks expelled and melted after a collision. If i'm not wrong, none alive or organic would survive on magma. Not even prions.
- jsjohnst 7y agoDepends on how fast the magma cooled. There are life forms which can handle up to 122°C and still actively reproduce. Look up hyperthermophiles for more info.
- pvaldes 7y agoWhen the magma has cooled enough the rock would be in space or in the upper mars atmosphere at least, not touching anything. Anything growing on mars surface would burn, only an hypothetical floating microbe could land in this rock after cooling, but would be like expecting a bacteria landing in a bullet, surviving the impact and then sticking to the surface whereas still alive (and much later surviving a second impact against earth after years in outer space). Seems unprobable.