The Science of Star Wars: The Scientific Facts Behind the Force, Space Travel, and More!

by Mark Brake

The idea that life on Earth could have been seeded from somewhere off the planet is called the panspermia hypothesis. The idea has arisen a few times since the fifth century BC. The most recent advocates of the theory were Sir Fred Hoyle and Professor Chandra Wickramasinghe. According to Wickramasinghe, panspermia is the hypothesis that life exists throughout the universe, distributed by meteoroids, asteroids, comets, and planetoids. The main thrust of this theory isn’t concerned with advanced life-forms, though. It mainly deals with microscopic organisms such as viruses, bacteria, and Achaea as well as molecules that can act as the building blocks of life. Additionally, Wickramasinghe says that it “is not meant to address how life began, just the propagation method that may cause its sustenance.”