SMRTR Science & EngineeringMar 3, 2026Interesting Engineering

Microbes may hitchhike across the solar system via asteroid debris, study finds

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Johns Hopkins researchers discovered that hardy bacteria can survive the extreme pressures generated when asteroids blast debris off planets, supporting the theory that microbes could hitchhike between worlds on rock fragments. The bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans survived crushing forces up to 24,000 times greater than deep ocean pressure, suggesting life could potentially spread across the solar system through natural asteroid impacts.

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