Panspermia previously thought to be inhospitable for life. Living bacteria found in ice core samples retrieved from deep at Lake Vostok in Antarctica, have provided data for extrapolations to the likelihood of microorganisms surviving frozen in extraterrestrial habitats or during interplanetary transport. Also, bacteria have been discovered living within warm rock deep in the Earth's crust. In order to test some these organisms' potential resilience in outer space, plant seeds and spores of bacteria, fungi and ferns have been exposed to the harsh space environment. Spores are produced as part of the normal life cycle of many plants, algae, fungi and
Lichen anatomy and physiology few Basidiomycetes are lichenized, but these include agarics, such as species of "Lichenomphalia", clavarioid fungi, such as species of "Multiclavula", and corticioid fungi, such as species of "Dictyonema". The autotrophic symbionts occurring in lichens are a wide variety of simple, photosynthetic organisms commonly and traditionally known as algae. These symbionts include both prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms. Approximately 100 species of photosynthetic partners from 40 genera and five distinct classes (prokaryotic: Cyanophyceae; eukaryotic: Trebouxiophyceae, Phaeophyceae, Chlorophyceae) have been found to associate with the lichen-forming fungi. The prokaryotes belong to the Cyanobacteria, whose representatives are often called bluegreen algae. The bluegreen algae