Microbial survival in space shuttle crash
Abstract
A slow growing, heat resistant bacterium, identified by 16S rRNA gene sequencing as Microbispora sp., was recovered from the wreckage of the ill-fated space shuttle Columbia (STS-107). As this organism survived disintegration of the space craft, heat of reentry, and impact, it supports the possibility of a natural mechanism for the interplanetary spread of life by meteorites.
- Publication:
-
Icarus
- Pub Date:
- March 2006
- DOI:
- 10.1016/j.icarus.2005.12.002
- Bibcode:
- 2006Icar..181..323M