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The alien virus only seems to be something taken from science fiction films and books. In fact, there are known cases of the presence on Earth of bacteria that came from outer space.
You can read the original article by journalist Sophia Quagli on the Gizmodo website.
What are space explorers most afraid of?
One of the most terrifying scenarios for NASA and other space agencies is the unexpected spread of some kind of alien virus on Earth. With each mission, the department is making more and more efforts so that none of these scenarios become a reality. However, some researchers believe that the current threat prevention standards are not enough: with the rise of ever more ambitious missions and private space companies, the risk of plate-to-plane pollution is increasing.
Scientists say we need to better plan for “forward contamination,” in which our aircraft spread Earth’s bacteria, and “backward contamination,” when life from other planets is brought to Earth. There is already a guide on how to do this. Invasion science is the discipline that studies how our planet’s species invade each other’s ecosystems.
What are the real chances of an alien bacteria invasion?
In the early 2030s, NASA plans to bring pieces of Mars back to Earth. This decade will see missions to Titan and Europa, moons of Saturn and Jupiter where life could well exist. Anthony Ricciardi, a professor of invasive ecology and aquatic ecosystems at McGill University, suggests that without technical analysis, it will be difficult to distinguish aliens from terrestrial life.
The science fiction novel and movie The Andromeda Strain detailed what would happen if a deadly alien microbe made its way to Earth and the world had to find a way to contain it. Although the author of the novel, Michael Crichton, rather fantasized about the possibility of such an invasion, in 2013, researchers described a new bacterial life form. She was less than 95% similar to her closest genetic relative. The bacterium found was named tersicoccus phoenicis – which means something like “clean room error”, as it was found in the sterile rooms of NASA and ESA spacecraft located at a distance of almost two thousand kilometers from each other.
This example is superimposed by the fact that some experts believe in the theory of panspermia, which says that life first originated not on Earth at all, but somewhere in the Universe, and was brought here by falling meteorites or comets. This idea can be easily reversed. For example, in 2019, an Israeli spacecraft with tardigrades, one of the most indestructible life forms known on Earth, inadvertently crashed onto the surface of the moon. Tardigrades can withstand extreme temperatures and pressures, including the vacuum of space.
How prepared are we for alien bacterial invasions?
Protocols for protecting the planet from biological contamination were developed as early as the 1960s. Since then, the rules have been updated and adjusted. Just a few examples: everything must be collected in sterile clean rooms, every spacecraft must have an inventory of all the organic matter that is there during the flight, the total bioburden – the presence of microorganisms on the surface – is also regulated depending on the mission.
NASA updated its planetary protection policy for the Moon and Mars as recently as 2020. Previously, the exploration of Mars took place without the participation of people – now there are recommendations on how to safely introduce a person into the mission.
Some experts speak out against the presence of humans in space missions to Mars and the Moon. For example, Athena Kustenis, chairman of the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR), is sure that people cannot afford it, because it will lead to the death of civilization. Kustenis says we have to be very careful and attentive.
In December 2020, a capsule with samples taken from the asteroid Bennu landed in Australia. The mission could return only on the condition that the likelihood that this event “would cause significant harm to the health of the population is extremely small.”
What can the science of intrusions teach us?
Anthony Riccardi, professor of invasive ecology and aquatic ecosystems at McGill University, and his colleagues, in an article published in the journal BioScience, explained how science focusing on ecology and biodiversity on Earth can come in handy during research on alien invasions.
First of all, you need to pay attention to how human activity provokes the instantaneous spread of “alien” microbes in various environments. Even the most remote deep-sea regions of the ocean and highlands suffered from this. A huge number of species became extinct after cats and rats appeared.
Riccardi says one of the biggest discoveries of invasive biology is that isolated ecosystems — places like Hawaii, New Zealand, Australia and Antarctica that have evolved in near total isolation — are especially susceptible to the impact of alien species. And microbes adapt very easily. One study showed that the common bacterium E. coli, left in the laboratory of microgravity, was able to grow more than a thousand generations, undergo mutations and evolution, become more competitive and resistant to antibiotics than the original species.
Perhaps researchers could develop portable rapid DNA sequencing machines to use in space. Something similar has already been done by the British commercial company Oxford Nanopore – the Oxford Nanopore MiniON sequencer. Space missions require DNA sequencing machines to be programmed with all the data on microbes and organisms that have already appeared in cleanrooms, like Tersicoccus phoenicis. Riccardi says scientists should be more likely to create possible scenarios and explore horizons: collect as much data as possible, load it into a supercomputer and pass it on to experts who can model predictions for the future.