Space/Science — HabitableZone

Space/Science » in reply to re: Meteroites-still dubious

re: Meteroites-still dubious
pwokenyaw — (archived)

If Mars or Venus became habitable 100-300 million years before Earth did, then transpermia would give a longer time window for life to originate than Earth had. Meteorite transit times of several million years wouldn't cut into that time all that much. I think it's still something of an open question of whether life in a meteorite could survive all that time, but it only has to happen once per planet/satellite.

Interstellar panspermia solves the life problem by saying life only had to develop once, which might be more likely than life developing billions of times throughout the galaxy. I think interstellar panspermia has feasibility problems that "intra-solar-system" transpermia doesn't.

I think transpermia isn't so much a way to solve a problem as it is a theory that might indicate how life could spread in the solar system, and time will tell if it's correct.

I read somewhere (maybe by Nick H.?) of the possibility of periodic habitability for early Earth, where tens of millions of years might pass between planet-sterilizing impacts. Meteorites sent up by impacts might protect life for the several thousand years before the Earth returned to habitability.

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