NASA experiments show bacteria and fungi survive Moon's coldest regions
Turns out, some Earth microbes are way tougher than we thought.
NASA tested three types of bacteria and two fungi, ones that already survive spacecraft-cleaning procedures and have been observed on the International Space Station, by exposing them to the Moon's coldest spots, where temperatures dip as low as minus 200 degrees Celsius.
Surprisingly, these tiny organisms managed to survive.
Frozen sleep prompts NASA contamination concerns
In those icy lunar regions, the microbes didn't grow or react; instead, they slipped into a "frozen sleep" but stayed alive.
This matters for NASA's upcoming Moon missions: these hardy microbes could help scientists study life in extreme places, but they also raise questions about keeping lunar discoveries free from Earth contamination.
As NASA scientist and co-author of the study Prabal Saxena puts it, these shadowed areas are like a "natural laboratory" for exploring things we never expected on the Moon.