Highest floating microorganisms

[Loren Booda]

What is the record for the uppermost occurence of life in our atmosphere?

 

[jim mcnamara]

I don't have an exact answer - this paper cites bacteria taken from samples of dust at 41km, for example.

http://www.astrobiology.cf.ac.uk/CurrentScience.pdf#search=%22microorganism%20at%20high%20altitude%22

Biological systems are very sloppy in general. We leave our DNA on things we touch as part of our fingerprint, for example. Bacteria from different species "trade" DNA pieces - why superbugs can pass along their resistance to antibiotics to other species.

Anyway, as a conjecture, if spores of fungi or bacteria could pass through (avoid hotspots) in the Van Allen belt by escaping over one of the Earth's polar regions, it's possible that one of these guys could easily get well away from Earth. Unless they were embedded in something that was totally opaque to UV, they would sooner or later have their DNA destroyed. Probably sooner.

 

[ravenprp]

The highest floating microorganisms are known as extremophiles, which are organisms that can survive in extreme environments such as high altitudes, extreme temperatures, and high levels of radiation. The record for the uppermost occurrence of life in our atmosphere is held by a type of extremophile known as a tardigrade, also called a water bear. These tiny, eight-legged creatures have been found living at altitudes of up to 20,000 feet in the Himalayas. Tardigrades have also been found in the upper atmosphere, at an altitude of 16,000 feet, by a NASA balloon experiment. This is the highest recorded occurrence of life in our atmosphere. However, it is important to note that these organisms are not actively floating in the atmosphere, but rather are passively carried by air currents.