Can life travel between stars on icy comets? ⚡ экспресс
Original: "Prospects for Panspermia via Interstellar Objects like 3I/ATLAS"
A new study tests whether microbes can survive an interstellar journey inside icy objects like comet 3I/ATLAS.
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JWST found methane in an interstellar comet for the first time. It could be a trace of life frozen in ice. But if someone intentionally sends such a capsule, the impact with a planet would heat it up hundreds of times more than TNT — and its payload wouldn't survive.
🎯 When landing on a planet, each kilogram of such a 'seed' would explode like 430 kg of TNT — no life could survive.
🎬 The plot of intentional planet seeding reminds of 'Prometheus': mysterious goo as seeds of life from ancient engineers.
E_{\text{specific}} = \frac{1}{2} v^2
Specific impact energy (energy per kilogram) equals half the square of the speed. At v = 60000 m/s, this yields 1.8×10⁹ J/kg.