Ecosystems Remind Us of Environmental Conditions When Life Originated in the Universe 7.9 Ultra-Abyssal Ecosystem: Puerto Rico Trench 7.10 Affiliations of Abyssal Life to Astrobiology: Some Perspectives 7.11 Can We Find Protozoans Such as Xenophyophores on Other Planets? 7.12 Barophilic Organisms in the Deep-Sea Acknowledgments References
6 Part II: Extremophiles in Space (International Space Station, Others) and Simulated Space Environments 8 Challenging the Survival Thresholds of a Desert Cyanobacterium under Laboratory Simulated and Space Conditions 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Endurance of Chroococcidiopsis Under Air-Drying and Space Vacuum 8.3 Endurance of Chroococcidiopsis Under Laboratory Simulated and Space Radiation 8.4 The Use of Chroococcidiopsis’s Survival Thresholds for Future Astrobiological Experiments Acknowledgments References 9 Lichens as Astrobiological Models: Experiments to Fathom the Limits of Life in Extraterrestrial Environments 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Survival of Lichens in Outer Space 9.3 Space Environment: Relevance in Space Science 9.4 Biological Effects of Space 9.5 Current and Past Astrobiological Facilities for Experiments with Lichens 9.6 Space Experiments with Lichens 9.7 Simulation Studies 9.8 Summary and Conclusions 9.9 Future Possibilities and Recommendations References 10 Resistance of the Archaeon Halococcus morrhuae and the Biofilm-Forming Bacterium Halomonas muralis to Exposure to Low Earth Orbit for 534 Days 10.1 Introduction 10.2 Material and Methods 10.3 Results 10.4 Discussion Acknowledgments References 11 The Amazing Journey of Cryomyces antarcticus from Antarctica to Space 11.1 Introduction 11.2 The McMurdo Dry Valleys 11.3 Cryptoendolithic Communities 11.4 The Black Microcolonial Yeast-like Fungus Cryomyces antarcticus 11.5 The Polyextremotolerance of Cryomyces antarcticus 11.6 Cryomyces antarcticus and its Resistance to Radiation in Ground-Based Simulated Studies 11.7 C. antarcticus and its Resistance to Actual Space Exposure in Low Earth Orbit 11.8 Conclusion 11.9 Future Perspectives Acknowledgments References
7 Part III: Reviews of Extremophiles on Earth and in Space 12 Tardigrades – Evolutionary Explorers in Extreme Environments 12.1 Introduction 12.2 The Evolutionary Transition Towards Cryptobiotic Adaptations in Tardigrades 12.3 Cryptobiosis as an Evolutionary Adaptive Strategy 12.4 Defining Life in Cryptobiotic Animals 12.5 A Resilience Approach to the Cryptobiotic State 12.6 Molecular Mechanisms for Structural Stability in the Dry State 12.7 Tardigrades as Astrobiological Models 12.8 Tardigrades – Extremotolerants or Extremophiles? Acknowledgments References 13 Spore-Forming Bacteria as Model Organisms for Studies in Astrobiology 13.1 Introduction 13.2 Historical Beginnings 13.3 Revival of Lithopanspermia 13.4 Testing Lithopanspermia Experimentally 13.5 Lithopanspermia, Spores, and the Origin of Life 13.6 Interstellar Lithopanspermia 13.7 Humans as Agents of Panspermia 13.8 Survival and Growth of Spores in the Mars Environment Acknowledgments References 14 Potential Energy Production and Utilization Pathways of the