NASA: National Aeronautics and Space Administration


Ask an Astrobiologist
"How does the human body maintain a sense of body position and balance on Earth, while flying in an airplane, or traveling through space? "
  1. Surviving STS-107

    Rocco Mancinelli, PI of NAI’s SETI Institute Lead Team, and member of NAI’s NASA Ames Research Center Lead Team joined researchers from KSC and Ames, as well as NAI’s Former Director, Barry Blumberg, in studying populations of C. Elegans which survived the atmospheric breakup of STS-107 during it’s fatal re-entry. Their results are published in Astrobiology. Five canisters were recovered, and live animals were observed in four of them. This demonstrates not only the ability of the culture medium to support the organisms during spaceflight, but also the ability of the animals to survive a relatively unprotected re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere. This study has implications for planetary protection and the interplanetary transfer of life.

    Source: [Link]