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EI2GYB > ASTRO 25.11.25 15:15l 48 Lines 4768 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 47913_EI2GYB
Subj: The Moss That Survived Nine Months in Space
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The Moss That Survived Nine Months in Space
Mosses conquered some of Earth's harshest environments long before humans arrived. They cling to Himalayan peaks, spread across Antarctic ice, and colonise fresh volcanic lava. These ancient plants, among the first to transition from water to land half a billion years ago, have survived multiple mass extinctions through sheer resilience. Researcher Tomomichi Fujita from Hokkaido University wondered if that resilience extended beyond Earth's atmosphere, so he sent moss to the ultimate extreme environment - the vacuum of space.
It seems the humble moss is much more resilient than we first thought. Researchers have sent some samples into space and it survived for nine months (Credit : IvoShandor)
Space is spectacularly hostile to life. The vacuum would make human blood boil. Cosmic radiation tears through unprotected cells. Temperatures swing wildly between extremes. Unfiltered solar ultraviolet light breaks down organic molecules with ruthless efficiency. Most organisms, humans very much included, would die within seconds of exposure.
The experiment to send moss into space sounds almost absurdly simple. In March 2022, hundreds of moss sporophytes, tiny capsules containing reproductive spores, launched to the International Space Station aboard a Cygnus cargo spacecraft. Astronauts attached the samples to the station's exterior, where they remained fully exposed to space for 283 days before returning to Earth in January 2023. No protection, no shielding, just moss versus the universe. The moss didn't merely survive. Over 80 percent of the spores made it back alive, and all but 11 percent of survivors germinated successfully in the lab, growing into healthy new moss plants. Chlorophyll levels remained largely normal, with only a modest 20 percent reduction in one light sensitive compound that didn't affect overall spore health.
Before sending moss into orbit, Fujita's team ran extensive ground tests using spreading earthmoss, a species well studied for its genetics and development. They subjected juvenile moss, specialised stress response stem cells, and the sporophytes to simulated space conditions. The juvenile moss died quickly. The stem cells fared better but still suffered high mortality. The sporophytes proved remarkably tough, showing roughly 1,000 times more tolerance to ultraviolet radiation than other moss parts.
That protective advantage comes from the spore's encasing structure, which acts as both physical barrier and chemical shield, absorbing harmful radiation before it reaches the vulnerable genetic material inside. This adaptation likely enabled bryophytes, the plant group including mosses, to colonise land 500 million years ago and weather subsequent extinction events.
Using data from the mission, researchers built a mathematical model predicting these spores could survive approximately 5,600 days in space, roughly 15 years, though they emphasise this remains a rough estimate requiring more data.
Source : This moss survived 9 months directly exposed to the elements of space
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