Microbial survival in space shuttle crash

A slow growing, heat resistant bacterium, identified by 16S rRNA gene sequencing as Microbispora sp., was recovered from the wreckage of the ill-fated space shuttle Columbia (STS-107). As this organism survived disintegration of the space craft, heat of reentry, and impact, it Supports the possibility of a natural mechanism for the interplanetary spread of life by meteorites. (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.