How stratospheric life is teaching us about the possibility of extreme life on other worlds

The presence of microbial life in Earth's stratosphere is not only opening up a new arena in which to study extremophiles, but is increasing the range of possible environments in which we may find life on other planets. This is the conclusion of a new study that summarizes what we know about stratospheric life so far.

The stratosphere is the atmospheric zone that lies directly above the dynamic troposphere where we live, but it is mostly a mystery when it comes to the life that exists there.

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Credit: NASA

The space shuttle Endeavour hangs against Earth’s atmosphere. The stratosphere is represented by the whitish layer.

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Credit: NASA Goddard

A stratosphere has been identified by the Hubble Space Telescope on the exoplanet WASP-33b, among others. Could life exist in alien stratospheres?

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WASP-33b, an exoplanet 4 1/2 times more massive that Jupiter, has a layer in its atmosphere that absorbs ultraviolet radiation, preventing UV from reaching the surface.

Earth has a similar stratospheric UV filter.