Algae survive in outer space for over a year

摘要

PRIMITIVE plants are the latest forms of Earth life to show they can survive in the harshness of space, and for many months. The algae were a species of Sphaerocystis, codenamed CCCryo 101-99, and were returned to Earth in June last year after 530 days on a panel outside the International Space Station. While space-borne, they withstood the vacuum, temperatures ranging from -20 ℃ at night to 47.2 ℃ by day, plus ultraviolet rays strong enough to destroy most life on Earth if not filtered out by the atmosphere.