Directed panspermia

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Apologies if this has ever been discussed before - I normally post on PPR, and was going to post this on there.

If life on earth is going to become extinct, should humans set out to be agents of panspermia.

Panspermia refers to the idea that life on different planets is 'seeded' by organisms from other planets. If humans send out billions of spacecraft (with solar sails, so they can travel for a LONG time) containing bacteria, we could potentially 'seed' other planets and start evolutionary chains there.

The question is: should we and why?

I think it is a good idea because as much as I love space opera, humans will never achieve faster-than-light travel that would enable us to reach other solar systems without using wormholes, plus our bodies are really not built for extended space travel. Also, life itself may rely on panspermia to continue. We may ourselves be the product of directed panspermia. I think this is more likely than God having done it.

There's the issue of whether we should interfere with the biosphere of another planet (when that planet might already have life on it). I think that is a real issue, but we have no way of knowing if life is already on these other Earth-like planets and it's a risk that's ultimately worth taking when faced with the extinction of life on Earth.

I think cyanobacteria would be the best bet because they make their own oxygen, and maybe some extremophiles.

We'll never know the results, but that's kind of what I like about it. It's hard to describe, but I like how it's a gamble. I have thought that maybe it's pointless, in the way that life itself is sort of pointless. Yes, it is pointless, but we are drawn to life and maintaining life, despite its pointlessness. We have been looking for life elsewhere in the universe for years and this is just an extension of that - setting out the spread life in the universe.

Hmm. Interesting. I really don't see much point unless it seems that life rare. If we find no other life in our solar system or, after observing the atmospheres of many, MANY exoplanets and we don't see any signs of life in other solar systems then I think it would be reasonable to attempt this. Of course, it would be very hard to do. I have no idea what sort of things we should send, although cyanobacteria sound like a good idea. Maybe, if we think we have some idea of what a planet is like, it would be best to tailor each mission for that particular planet. This could be useful because if humans ever do develop interstellar travel we'd have planets already in the process of being terraformed.

However, if life is common in the universe, then why bother? We wouldn't be anything special and I don't see the point of risking someone else's ecosystem. What would be a good compromise, of course, would be to send probes out with some sort of artificial intelligence, to evaluate each planet on a case-by-case basis and decide whether there is already life and just move on if there is.

What would also be interesting would be to try this out on Mars and Europa (if they don't have life already). With a bit of practice we might even be able to manage the cloud-tops of Venus. However, all of these would take at least some genetic engineering. But the advantage is that we might be able to see the results. And in the case of Mars it might be useful in terraforming. Or just as a very long-term experiment. Science fiction author Ben Bova discusses something a little like that in his book Mars Life, although in that case all Martian life has gone extinct except bacteria and lichens and scientists are trying to create environments in which the bacteria could thrive and hopefully redevelop the ecosystem.

How would you get earth life out beyond our solar system. The stars are so far away.

ruveyn

I suspect Panspermia already occurs via interstellar cometary exchange. Directed Panspermia is something I would definitely support. Francis Crick, one of the co-discoverers of DNA, once mused that he suspects life on Earth could be the result of some sort of 'directed Panspermia'

It is doubtful that evolution would repeat itself to where humans would develop and dominate again using your scenario. Even using your cyanobacteria in a duplicate earth-like planet, it is unlikely that a single inoculum of life would take hold and survive long enough for life to take hold and survive. Repeated exposures over long durations are probably needed.

A better bet might be sending out computers that can recreate life using bioorganic compounds that it either takes with it or is able to obtain once there. I suppose you could take human DNA sequences and the ability to artificially produce a fertilized egg and reproduce a human once there. If you can do this over a large enough time frame, using an orbiting spaceship nursery, you could reproduce a garden of eden possibly. The thing is that humans will likely evolve into something entirely different on Earth in any case. Our future generations, if they escape this solar system, wouldn't recognize themselves if they stumbled across New Earth.

I don't get the poll. I like the idea, I think it's very interesting and possible.

Is it yay or nay to this:

the purpose of life is to create more life.