article_snippet: However, in recent years scientists have discovered it can survive the harsh conditions of space and even the heat of reentry.
article_snippet: Scientists who attached small double strands of DNA to the outer casing of a rocket said Scientists who attached small double strands of DNA to the outer casing of a rocket were 'completely surprised' when more than half the samples remained intact.
article_snippet: This was despite temperatures soaring to more than 1,000°C (1,800°F) during the short flight to sub-orbital space and back, and This raises the possibility of extraterrestrial life molecules arriving on Earth from space.
article_snippet: The Texus-49 sub-orbital mission launched from the European base of Esrange in Kiruna, northern Sweden, and was originally intended to study the influence of gravity on the genes of human cells carried inside a rocket.
article_snippet: But scientists decided, in addition, to test the effects space travel has on DNA when carried at three positions on a rocket's outer casing - and found a rocket survived.