Space dust could carry alien life across the galaxy, study suggests

An artist's depiction of an asteroid hitting Earth.

Astrobiologists should examine space dust and other exoplanetary debris to search for the existence of life beyond Earth, a new study suggests.

Up to 100,000 pieces of life-carrying dust particles could be making their way to Earth every year, according to the study, which was authored by Tomonori Totani, an astronomy professor at the University of Tokyo.