I think they meant it the other way, from Earth outwards.
So if you find x living microbes at 200km from Earth, given thermal dispersion, shouldn't there be some y number of molecules from Earth on the Moon? (And so on)
Even if y is a really small number, it effectively means any one planet with life would most likely "pollute" the star system it finds itself in. (Would need to do the math on this, but I believe that was the commenter's point)
> So if you find x living microbes at 200km from Earth, given thermal dispersion, shouldn't there be some y number of molecules from Earth on the Moon?
I doubt it - even if the "uplifting air currents" hypothesis were proven true, there's a massive difference between low earth orbit and the moon. Around 8 km/s of delta-V to be exact.[1] This means that, to make it to the moon, the molecule not only has to reach LEO, it has to be moving at 8 km/s (a pretty insane speed) by the time it gets there. I can't imagine any earthly air current moving that fast, in fact it's likely impossible because the speed of sound is only 0.35 km/s.
So if you find x living microbes at 200km from Earth, given thermal dispersion, shouldn't there be some y number of molecules from Earth on the Moon? (And so on)
Even if y is a really small number, it effectively means any one planet with life would most likely "pollute" the star system it finds itself in. (Would need to do the math on this, but I believe that was the commenter's point)