"The fact that terrestrial microbes are the Earth's best colonizers means we can never completely discount terrestrial contamination."

Summary

Earth-based bacteria rapidly colonized a Ryugu asteroid sample after it was returned to Earth in 2020 by Japan’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft.

Researchers confirmed the microbes were terrestrial, appearing after exposure to Earth’s atmosphere. Within two weeks, microbial populations on the sample grew significantly.

This highlights the resilience of Earth’s microorganisms and raises concerns about contamination of extraterrestrial materials and planetary environments during space missions.

The findings emphasize the need for strict planetary protection protocols to avoid misinterpreting contamination as evidence of alien life. The study was published in Meteoritics & Planetary Science.

  • @[email protected]English
    5•5 hours ago

    I think you may not have scrolled far enough? The only paragraph I see that fits your description is in the middle of the article. It is unfortunately followed by a subscribe prompt which can be misinterpreted as marking the end of the article, so there’s that.

    • @[email protected]English
      4•5 hours ago

      Thank you. Looks like you’re half right. It wasn’t the end of the article, but it is part of the article. It continues with:

      Disappointingly, the team has successfully and conclusively ruled this out.