1) It is the 1970s. American biologist Lynn Margulis suggests a radical new theory that could potentially explain how life evolved.
The catch - it centres on microbes instead of fossils.
Billions of years ago, simple, single-celled organisms merge together to form complex cells. Over time, these eventually evolve into life on Earth - animals, plants, fungi, insects, us!
2) But how does Margulis test her theory?
Major research organizations refuse to fund her work.
And then, NASA happens.
Amidst looking up at stars and vastness of space, the Administration begins to ask - Can life exist in space? What about the moon, other planets? Where did life come from? How did we get here?
Can Margulis' theory help answer our questions?
3) Potentially. But the radical theory needs radical vision. It needs daring researchers, and their willingness to use a nascent, emerging discipline called biotechnology.
And funding. Lots of funding.
NASA steps in.
4) NASA money + cutting-edge research + daring scientists = By 1978, Margulis' theory proves correct. The success story lays the foundations of modern evolutionary biology.
It compels scientists to take a 'microbial' view of how life evolved rather than only relying on fossils.
That initial NASA funding also seeds the development of tools and techniques routinely used in biotechnology.
5) And that's how NASA - an organization that looks at stars - helped the world look inside cells.
This summary was adapted from the original article:
Despite a Skyward Mission, NASA Shaped the Study of Life on Earth