Sea plankton discovered outside space station.
Russian scientists make the odd find while doing experiments on ISS surface.
(http://i1.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article3715495.ece/alternates/s615/Glowing-Plankton.jpg)
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/technology-science/science/scientists-baffled-discovery-plankton-space-4076544
Russian scientists conducting experiments on the outside surface of the International Space State made a puzzling discovery, one made all the more remarkable because it's something that whales eat.
Samples taken from illuminators and the surface of the space station were found to have traces of sea plankton and other microorganisms, but scientists are baffled as to how they got there, the Russian chief of the orbital mission told the ITAR-TASS News Agency.
"Results of the experiment are absolutely unique," chief of the Russian ISS orbital mission Vladimir Solovyev told ITAR-TASS. "We have found traces of sea plankton and microscopic particles on the illuminator surface. This should be studied further."
The study shows that the sea plankton and organisms can live in space despite lack of oxygen, zero gravity, extreme temperatures, and cosmic radiation, and they proved these organisms can even develop.
The news agency reported that Mr. Solovyev was uncertain "how these microscopic particles could have appeared on the surface of the space station," adding that the organisms were not typical for Baikonur in Kazakhstan, from where the space station lifted off.
"Plankton in these stages of development could be found on the surface of the oceans.
"This is not typical for Baikonur. It means that there are some uplifting air currents which reach the station and settle on its surface," he was quoted as saying.
The discovery was made using high-precision equipment in the experiment, apparently prompted during an operation to clean and polish the International Space Station, the Express reported.
As Solovyev said, this should be studied further.
http://www.grindtv.com/outdoor/nature/post/sea-plankton-discovered-outside-space-station/
Astro,
Cool find! Here is a SEM microscope view of one type of plankton
(not discovered on the ISS)
This stuff looks amazing!
(http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/08/19/1408459111838_wps_3_19_May_2014_Radiolarian_C.jpg)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2728979/Never-mind-alien-life-SEA-PLANKTON-space-Creatures-living-surface-ISS-officials-say.html
So we've probably polluted the rest of space with our various missions. I'm sure "they're" grateful. :P
ahhh now we know..space is an ocean. all that dark matter is liquid .hummmmmm
and the humans have tracked in more dirt....figures :(
can't let them surface till they learn to wipe their feet..idiots!..
I can hear the loud speaker now..
clean up in aisle 5..where the humans are....again.!!!
;)
Well, since the 'experts' told us that NOTHING could survive the bottom of the atlantic trench, or the extreme cold of the icecaps, or totally dark caves, or near volcanoes or in hot springs, and we have found organisms in ALL these places, it doesn't surprise me to find a life-form that can withstand the intense cold & vacuum of space...remember the ending of 'Alien'?
(Well i do, Sigourney Weaver in her underwear :D but she should have checked the cat first, LOL)
I would not be surprised if there's a 50 gigaton spray-can of 'Stop-Hume' on it's way here right now. On the can it says "Treat every 3600* orbits for an infestation-free environment"
::)
* That is the average number of years that we have to learn before we get wiped out (again), this sems to have happened several times, the last one ended in a nuclear war, according to Hoagland & co. it seems we are headed down the tubes for a 4th time..... ::)
http://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/aug/21/sea-plankton-have-been-found-on-the-international-space-station-but-how-did-they-get-there
Sea plankton have been found on the International Space Station – but how did they get there?
Russian cosmonaut Vladimir Solovyev says the plankton were blown up into space by air currents on earth
Sea plankton have been found on the outside of the International Space Station, a Russian news agency reports.
Itar-Tass says scientists on the space station, whose first component was launched into orbit in 1998, found the plankton – a source of food to many sea creatures – when taking samples from the windows (or "illuminators").
This, the agency writes, confirms "that some organisms can live on the surface of the International Space Station (ISS) for years amid factors of a space flight, such as zero gravity, temperature conditions and hard cosmic radiation. Several surveys proved that these organisms can even develop."
Stuff website reported that the plankton samples "were not carried there at launch, but are thought to have been blown over by air currents on Earth".
Head of the Russian ISS orbital mission Vladimir Solovyev said the results of the experiment "are absolutely unique".
He said the marine micro-organisms were not native to blast-off site Kazakhstan, and may have been "uplifted" to the station at an altitude of 420km.
"Plankton in these stages of development could be found on the surface of the oceans," he said.
"This is not typical for Baikonur [in Kazakhstan]. It means that there are some uplifting air currents which reach the station and settle on its surface."
Is there a better explanation for the plankton's trip out of this world?
First of all how can plankton get there? The cosmonaut has his answer to present to us. Secondly, how can the plankton live in that harsh environment? I am not an oceanographer nor do I know much about sea life but finding out that plankton is growing on the outside of the space station just fascinates me to no end. Can anyone explain this to me?
That's very interesting, but was posted some days ago, here (http://www.thelivingmoon.com/forum/index.php?topic=7207.msg100640#msg100640). :)
http://www.newstatesman.com/2014/08/curious-case-space-plankton
(http://www.newstatesman.com/sites/default/files/styles/fullnode_image/public/blogs_2014/09/s129e007592.jpg?itok=1VtZlT5Z)
While on earth it may be a difficult time for US-Russia relations, above us the International Space Station (ISS) remains an outpost of collaboration between the two countries. At least, that's the idea. In practice, communication may be breaking down between the astronauts on board humanity's most expensive scientific experiment.
Russia's Itar-Tass news agency reported on 19 August that Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, had found sea plankton living on the outside of the ISS. It quoted the ISS mission chief for Roscomos, Vladimir Solovyov, who said they were found outside the Russian section of the ISS. This is surprising, as none of the astronauts or agencies involved put them there. Indeed, Nasa doesn't quite believe it. Its spokesperson said that Nasa hadn't heard any official reports from its Russian colleagues.
Plankton (from the Greek for "drifter") are micro-organisms such as bacteria and algae that float around in water and are unable to swim against the current. We don't know yet what kind of plankton Roscosmos claims to have found. Yet the assertion is plausible – if unlikely.
It's increasingly becoming clear that space is a more hospitable environment than was assumed. It's a mistake we can be forgiven for making – after all, for human-sized animals, space is a terrible place. Yet, for some organisms, it is no more challenging than some of earth's more intimidating ecological niches, such as volcanic vents at the bottom of the oceans or Antarctica. The high radiation, lack of pressure and extremes of heat and cold in space are tough but not deadly to creatures that exist on the scale of fractions of a millimetre or less.
We know this because for years the ISS has been running experiments to test micro-organism hardiness. In 2008, bacteria living in rocks found in Devon were put outside the ISS and left there for 533 days. When the rocks were brought back to earth, the bacteria happily began multiplying again. These were ordinary Gloeocapsa cyanobacteria, of a kind found all over the world. Several other experiments – with lichen and with the particularly hard-to-kill tardigrades (eight-legged creatures known as "water bears") – have also shown how some life forms can hibernate until conditions improve. This is why the panspermia hypothesis – that earth life originally came on an asteroid or comet – has been gaining traction in recent years.
If there are plankton living on the outside of the ISS, they could have come from a contaminated component, or been blasted on to the station by thrusters from a supply ship. Cleaning spacecraft is exceedingly difficult – Nasa is reasonably certain that its landers, including Viking and Curiosity, were probably not completely sterile when they were launched. Perhaps when human beings finally travel to Mars, we won't be the first earthlings there. Some of our microscopic relatives could be waiting for us.
I thought this was also an interesting article. So all those little particles we saw when astronauts were filming other things in space may have been life but not as we know it. Makes a person wonder what the space agencies are not telling us. I didn't see this information in mainstream media. Life in the vacuum of space...or is it really a vacuum?