A new study suggests life on Earth could have sprung from electrically charged microbes from space!

Previously, some researchers think living microbes could have been commuting between Earth and Mars via meteors based on the discovery of a Martian space rock known as meteorite ALH84001. They think that living microbes could have travelled back and forth between the two planets, succeeding in seeding one with life. That planet is, of course Earth. Otherwise we'd all be in Mars right now.

Like all theories, there are holes in this fascinating scenario. Such a trip could only happen after a huge asteroid collided with one of the planets powerful enough to blast rocks off the planet's surface. It does happen but not every day. In fact, such strikes are extremely rare only a handful are thought to have occurred since the solar system formed.

Now, the new study suggests another way for microbes to travel through space. Tom Dehel from the US Federal Aviation Administration, calculated the effect of electric fields at various levels in the atmosphere on a bacterium that was carrying an electric charge. He says electrically charged bacteria could easily be ejected from the Earth's gravitational field by the same kind of electromagnetic fields that generate aurora. And this happens every day.

The field strength vary greatly at different levels of the atmosphere but the strongest ones are near the surface, generated by thunderstorms. If the fields extend through the whole air column, the process of launching bacteria high into the atmosphere could be an ongoing process.

"Since the upward forces of the magnetic field would balance the force of gravity for tiny organisms, they could float in the upper atmosphere for years and reproduce there, giving them a chance to evolve capabilities to endure the hardships of that environment, including coping with strong UV and a near-vacuum. Such organisms would thus be well equipped to endure the rigours of a journey through space," says Dehel.

Another route the microbes could take is through the “magnetospheric plasmoids.” These are independent structures of plasma and magnetic fields that can be swept away from the Earth’s magnetosphere. Bacteria surfing these structures could attain speeds capable of taking them out of the solar system and on to the planets of other stars. "And because of the potential for a steady outflow of the particles pushed by the electric fields, a single life-bearing world might seed an entire galaxy with life", said Dehel at the biennial meeting of the International Committee on Space Research (COSPAR), in Beijing, China.

If Dehel's theory is true that would make all of us Martians!