Aliens can use cosmic rays as food

New research by the US scientist points out if there exist in planets like Mars, aliens can live by energy from cosmic rays.

Organisms based on cosmic rays can thrive on planets floating in intergalactic space and not to orbit any star, researcher Dimitra Atri at the Blue Marble Space Science Institute at Seattle, USA, concluded in a report published on October 5 in Royal Society Interface magazine.

"When radiation reaches the aquifer can exist beneath Jupiter's Mars or moon surface, it will activate the chemical reactions that living organisms can use , " Live Science quoted Atri. .

Life on Earth depends largely on energy from the Sun. Light promotes photosynthetic reactions, directly or indirectly providing nutrients for most living organisms. However, without light, living organisms can search for other energy sources such as heat, chemical energy and even ionizing radiation.

Cosmic rays can nourish life on Earth as well as other planets.(Photo: NSF / J. Yang).

For example, bacteria Candidatus Desulforudis audaxviator found 2.8km below a gold mine in South Africa, living on energy from radioactive isotopes of uranium, thorium and potassium in rock. Ionizing radiation from these isotopes dissolves water in the area into hydrogen gas, allowing bacteria to be used as fuel to produce other useful molecules.

"Most research on ionizing radiation involves potential harmful effects such as DNA destruction , " Atri said. "But bacteria live completely separate from sunlight and the biosphere can survive thanks to ionizing radiation."

Atri studied cosmic rays in the galaxy, including high-energy particles such as protons, traveling through space from outside the solar system. After learning about Ca. D. audaxviator, Atri wondered if other bacteria could survive on energy from cosmic rays.

Cosmic rays possess much higher energy than radioactive sources on Earth. When exposed to the atmosphere or the planet's surface, they emit a series of particles such as electrons, positrons and neutrons along with dangerous gamma rays. "Cosmic rays are everywhere, and they contain a lot of energy, can even penetrate underneath the planet's surface , " Atri said.

Using computer simulations, Atri discovered cosmic rays that could provide a stable source of energy for underground life. This energy is quite similar to the source produced from radioactive substances on Earth. The flow of energy can also feed other potential life forms.

Atri is planning to have Ca bacteria. D. audaxviator comes into contact with particles generated from laboratory cosmic rays to prove their hypothesis.