"Is there any current research in cryogenics or suspended animation for long-term space travel?"
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Surviving STS-107
January 12, 2006 / Posted by: Shige Abe
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]
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