<p>Mars meteorites have been found on Earth, and there likely are Earth meteorites that have crashed on Mars.
If you take any random piece of rock from the surface of Earth, the odds are there will be some microbes on it. Some microbes from Earth can survive as they travel through space (see the Surveyor III part returned by Apollo).</p>
<p>Could unicellular life forms end up on Mars after being transported by an Earth meteoroid? Would it be possible for some to survive the trip to Mars? What about through the martian atmosphere?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-09-04T11:23:48.070Z
This is called "Lithopanspermia". It is a complex topic with many published papers adressing different parts (survivability of the ejection process, the interplantery travel and the arrival). If I have time later I will try to answer with more specifics but the answer appears to be: yes, it is possible, but we don't know if it ever happened.
Swike
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-09-04T17:06:40.927Z
@Swike - that should be an answer.
Natsfan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-09-04T21:07:47.720Z
Going the other way. You might be interested in the [Adam Hills 84001 Mars meteorite](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allan_Hills_84001) that was found in Antarctica in 1984. Some scientists thought it had fossilized traces of bacteria from Mars which were brought to Earth. For a long time I have wondered why some scientists has thought that Mars might have been a better candidate for life to have become established on prior to it becoming established on Earth.
Fred
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-09-05T01:45:42.177Z
recent scientific results of interest: [DNA Damage and Survival Time Course of Deinococcal Cell Pellets During 3 Years of Exposure to Outer Space](https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2020.02050/full) and ever so slightly related: [What precautions are planned to prevent samples returned from Mars crashing and releasing organisms on Earth?](https://space.stackexchange.com/q/45035/12102) and [If Elon Musk wanted to bring back some martian soil, would US permission be required?](https://space.stackexchange.com/q/45677/12102)
uhoh
<mars><life><meteoroid>
Could life forms have travelled between the Earth and Mars on meteoroids?
usernumber
# Could life forms have travelled between the Earth and Mars on meteoroids?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-09-03)

Mars meteorites have been found on Earth, and there likely are Earth meteorites that have crashed on Mars.
If you take any random piece of rock from the surface of Earth, the odds are there will be some microbes on it. Some microbes from Earth can survive as they travel through space (see the Surveyor III part returned by Apollo).

Could unicellular life forms end up on Mars after being transported by an Earth meteoroid? Would it be possible for some to survive the trip to Mars? What about through the martian atmosphere?

**Tags:** mars, life, meteoroid
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: This is called "Lithopanspermia". It is a complex topic with many published papers adressing different parts (survivability of the ejection process, the interplantery travel and the arrival). If I have time later I will try to answer with more specifics but the answer appears to be: yes, it is possible, but we don't know if it ever happened.  
> **username_2**: @Swike - that should be an answer.  
> **username_3**: Going the other way. You might be interested in the [Adam Hills 84001 Mars meteorite](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allan_Hills_84001) that was found in Antarctica in 1984. Some scientists thought it had fossilized traces of bacteria from Mars which were brought to Earth. For a long time I have wondered why some scientists has thought that Mars might have been a better candidate for life to have become established on prior to it becoming established on Earth.  
> **username_4**: recent scientific results of interest: [DNA Damage and Survival Time Course of Deinococcal Cell Pellets During 3 Years of Exposure to Outer Space](https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2020.02050/full) and ever so slightly related: [What precautions are planned to prevent samples returned from Mars crashing and releasing organisms on Earth?](https://space.stackexchange.com/q/45035/12102) and [If Elon Musk wanted to bring back some martian soil, would US permission be required?](https://space.stackexchange.com/q/45677/12102)  

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