Seeking anwsers about life in outer space through Exobiology

What are the limits to life and can it survive space travel? Can life hitchhike across the Galaxy, and where did life come from to begin with? How can we protect life on Earth and avoid contaminating other planets we explore? Exobiology seeks to answer these questions and ESA research is at the forefront of finding answers. ESA has already found life that can survive spaceflight. Both lichen and small organisms called tardigrades or ‘water bears’ have spent months attached outside the International Space Station and returned to Earth alive and well. ESA has a long history of experiments exposing life to the harsh conditions of space. The atmosphere protects all life from the Sun’s UV rays and cosmic radiation so satellites are the only way to experiment with the space environment.