NASA-led study shows some Earth microbes could survive on the moon

The moon is, to put it mildly, an inhospitable place for people and other living organisms from Earth, with its lack of breathable air, extreme temperatures, and exposure to relentless space radiation and energetic particles. That is why astronauts wear spacesuits and spacecraft are built with shielding.But how about the microbes that inevitably will hitchhike with astronauts during space exploration?New research led by NASA scientists looking at five forms of fungi and bacteria indicates that some of them indeed could survive for a time under certain conditions on the lunar surface - a finding that raises concerns about unintended life transfer to the moon.These microbes were tested in modeling simulations of three regions near the lunar South Pole - Nobile Rim, Connecting Ridge, and de Gerlache Rim - using environmental conditions based on observations by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and data on radiation exposure.The simulations indicated that some of the…