Re: Is there any organism that can live on a planet out of our solar system?

Travis, check this out: http://www.windows.ucar.edu/

Your question covers an incomprehensibly large amount of space.  Since 
we're still finding cool new organisms on our own planet, I'm willing to 
bet that there's a lot more out there.  Every star you can see at night 
and all the ones too far away to see are in many ways like are own sun.  
Each could be the center of a solar system, and big chunks of rock or ice 
or toxic (to us) gasses could orbit around them. So yes, it's entirely 
conceivable that there's life somewhere else.

For the sake of argument (I love a good argument), let's just examine what 
we know.  Hypothetical and slightly sci-fi situation: a crazy old 
scientist gets together with her rocketeering neighbors and sends out 
several rockets into space, aimed at various solar systems.  In these 
rockets are cryo-encapsulated organisms.  She wants to "seed" the universe 
with some earth organisms. What organisms that we can find here on earth 
will survive on other planets?
 
Gila monsters?  Too ugly.  My sister's pet rat?  Too ugly and the gila 
monster would eat it.  I wouldn't mind volunteering if there was enough 
oxygen and food, but I'm from New Mexico, and anything as cold as an 
Alaskan New Years and I'll be calling back to Earth for a return ticket.  
I'd go for bacteria.  Archaebacteria to be more specific.  

Archaebacteria are strange critters.  I (er, the crazy scientist) would 
choose them as a suitable bunch of organisms because they live in the 
widest range of environments.  Many live in ice or briny water, feed off 
of methane or sulfur compounds, and some can't tolerate temperatures 
*below* 120 degrees Fahrenheit.

Since we really aren't sure what kind of environments are out there, at 
least some of these organisms might be expected to survive when they land 
and thaw out of cryostasis.  

The basic characteristic that all of these bacteria have in common (with 
us and other organisms) is that they need food, a "media" to grow in or 
on, and warmth, light, radiation or some other source of energy as means 
of getting their electrons excited.

Much as I love hypothesizing about this stuff, there are experts out there 
who could give you a lot more information on this topic.
I highly recommend checking out exobiology or astrobiology resources.  
Terraformers too are fine resources (they're people who establish ways for 
people to live on other planets).  Also, the link above is a resource of 
resources.  

Well, I hope this has helped expand your mind to some new possibilities, 
Travis.  If you happen to find a way to pass the time on this ultra-long 
space-plane journey, let me know, I'd like to come along and see what 
happens!