 The first American tests were made in 1966, during the Gemini IX and XII missions, when samples of bacteriophage T1 and spores of "Penicillium roqueforti" were exposed to outer space for 16.8 h and 6.5 h, respectively.Other basic life sciences research in low Earth orbit started in 1966 with the Soviet biosatellite program Bion and the U.S. Biosatellite program.Thus, the plausibility of panspermia can be evaluated by examining life forms on Earth for their capacity to survive in space.