Life in space

[Spinward Scout]

Plankton has been found on the outside of the International Space Station.

http://theweek.com/article/index/26...on-on-exterior-of-international-space-station

 

[Timerover51]

Plankton has been found on the outside of the International Space Station.

http://theweek.com/article/index/26...on-on-exterior-of-international-space-station

Given the extremes that life can exist on this planet, why is this surprising? The interesting point is the survival in vacuum.

 

[CosmicGamer]

I have trouble believing what little is written when in one place it seams it was happenstance that it was found while cleaning and in another is says it is part of an experiment.

I see it seams to be based another news source so you probably have the typical story about a story about a.... ever play grapevine? Reporting based on just one possible idea scientists may have had while spitball/brainstorming as well as possible translation inaccuracy - I did a quick search on Информационное телеграфное агентство России and may have missed it, but the closest I found was an article about Russian scientists finding microbial life in Antarctic ice.

The station is not 100% air tight so personally I'd not be surprised at all if some form of life could survive on the outside surface near a small atmosphere leak.

 

[CosmicGamer]

I believe this may be the Russian version but my Russian is much worse than my English.
http://itar-tass.com/nauka/1387459

 

[atpollard]

I believe this may be the Russian version but my Russian is much worse than my English.
http://itar-tass.com/nauka/1387459

And they have the article in English ... http://en.itar-tass.com/non-political/745635

 

[CosmicGamer]

And they have the article in English ... http://en.itar-tass.com/non-political/745635

Yes, the English version was linked to in the article Spinward Scout pointed us to.

I'm just saying that sometimes things can get messed up in translation, especially if the translator is not up to speed on the topic being written about. Also there is the grapevine effect, as people misinterpret or give their own slant to things as it is read and repeated.

Just wanted to point to an article that was closer to the original report in case there is anyone better at Russian than I.

 

[atpollard]

Yes, the English version was linked to in the article Spinward Scout pointed us to.

OOPS. I didn't notice the link in the original article. I spotted it from the Russian link that you posted.

OK, so trying to be more helpful ... here someone did it on purpose (supports ISS story plausibility)
Lichens Survive in Space: Results from the 2005 LICHENS Experiment

 

[Spinward Scout]

Here's an update:

The Russian news agency ITAR-TASS is claiming that Russian officials have confirmed that Russian cosmonauts have found sea plankton on the outside of the International Space Station. The news agency reports that the cosmonauts have also found traces of other organisms on the outside of the station as well. To date, no other news group has been able to confirm the report and thus far it appears no other agency, including NASA has been able to confirm the claims made by the Russians.

http://phys.org/news/2014-08-itar-tass-russian-cosmonauts-sea-plankton.html

 

[Ulsyus]

Here's an update:
Quote:
The Russian news agency ITAR-TASS is claiming that Russian officials have confirmed that Russian cosmonauts have found sea plankton on the outside of the International Space Station. The news agency reports that the cosmonauts have also found traces of other organisms on the outside of the station as well. To date, no other news group has been able to confirm the report and thus far it appears no other agency, including NASA has been able to confirm the claims made by the Russians.
http://phys.org/news/2014-08-itar-tass-russian-cosmonauts-sea-plankton.html

What?? ITAR-TASS making unsubstantiated or unsupported claims? They've never done that before have they?!?

 

[lspitz]

Before people get too excited, I should point out that the ISS is not actually in space, which is generally defined as "outside of the gravitationally bound atmosphere of any body". The ISS orbits in the outer fringes of Earth's atmosphere (at the upper end of the thermosphere, but below the exosphere), where gas molecules are still gravitationally bound to the planet. It's also protected by the Earth's magnetosphere from much of the hard radiation that would strike a vessel in true interplanetary space.

The pressure up there is very low by human standards, but it's not a vacuum. Atmospheric drag forces are still sufficient to drop the station's altitude by a kilometer or so per month.

Since the ISS is within the confines of the gravitationally bound atmosphere, I suppose it's not entirely outside the realm of physical possibility that living organisms could get lofted that high by natural forces- but they'd have to be very, very small. Bacteria and archaea (some of which are picoplankton), maybe. Larger varieties of plankton seem out of the question. I didn't see anything in the linked English article that qualified what type they were claiming to have found.

 

[Carlobrand]

That explains why things have been so quiet in Bikini Bottom lately.

 

[BlackBat242]

The ISS orbits in the outer fringes of Earth's atmosphere (at the upper end of the thermosphere, but below the exosphere), where gas molecules are still gravitationally bound to the planet. It's also protected by the Earth's magnetosphere from much of the hard radiation that would strike a vessel in true interplanetary space.

The pressure up there is very low by human standards, but it's not a vacuum. Atmospheric drag forces are still sufficient to drop the station's altitude by a kilometer or so per month.

The ISS maintains an orbit with an altitude of between 330 km (205 mi) and 435 km (270 mi) by means of reboost manoeuvres using the engines of the Zvezda module or visiting spacecraft.

Mean altitude of the International Space Station from November 1998 until 2009:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/Internationale_Raumstation_Bahnh%C3%B6he_%28dumb_version%29.png

Since then its altitude has been more-closely regulated.

A graph of ISS altitude Aug 2013-Aug 2014, showing an average of 415.5-416km with a high of 418.5 and a low of 412.5:
http://www.heavens-above.com/IssHeight.aspx