He was the first man in space—free falling to the earth, traveling without a vehicle, breaking the sound barrier, wearing only a space suit, carrying a film camera. On August 16, 1960, he ascended to 19 miles above the earth in a space age helium balloon called the Excelsior III gondola, and then he jumped. For a man who fell to earth, David Bowie ain’t got nothin on Joseph Kittinger.

Ok, so it’s downright phenomenal that lichens don’t need spacesuits for interstellar travel. Crazy even. Wildcrafting edible organic lichen outside your spacecraft may revolutionize our future travel gardens and meals, but that’s not what really gets my synapses firing. A recent article in The Register expands upon the details, Lichens love life in space.