Stratosphere microbes might hold clues to life on earth

Abstract

On April 20, 2005, a 26.7 million cubic feet balloon carrying a 459 kg scientific payload with 38 kg of liquid neon was flown from the National Balloon Facility in Hyderabad operated by the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR). The payload collected air samples from different heights ranging from 20 km to 41 km. After this operation, the payload was parachuted down and was safely retrieved. The collected samples were divided into two lots and independently analysed by the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad and the National Centre for Cell Science (NCCS), Pune. Both labs reported finding live microorganisms¹. Such findings have enormous implications for the budding field of astrobiology besides providing important inputs into the question of how life started on our planet.