Lithopanspermia Hypothesis

Lithopanspermia, sometimes referred to as interstellar panspermia, is a version of the panspermia hypothesis in which it is argued that impact-expelled rocks from a planet's surface serve as transfer vehicles for spreading biological material from one solar system to another. It requires that the microorganisms survive (1) the impact ejection process from the planet of origin; (2) travelling through space; (3) landing on a planet in another solar system.

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Panspermia Theories

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Panspermia theory: the origin of life on Earth and the transfer of life throughout the Universe. Three popular variations of the hypothesis are directed panspermia - the intentional transfer of life to other planets by intelligent life; lithopanspermia - extremophile bacteria traveling through space within a meteorite, asteroid or comet from a planet in one solar system to a planet in another solar system; and ballistic panspermia - extremophile microbes traveling through space within meteorites, asteroids or comets between planets within the same solar system, such as from Mars to Earth. Panspermia has been explored by the astrobiology community and endorsed by astrophysicist Stephen Hawking and Nobel prize winner Professor Francis Crick.

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