Overview
- A NASA-led, peer-reviewed modeling study used Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter topography, ray-tracing, temperature and radiation inputs to map shadowed niches near the lunar poles and test microbe survival in those simulated environments.
- The team found fungi survived longer than the bacteria tested, with the common fungus Aspergillus niger showing the greatest short-term viability under the simulated polar conditions.
- The experiments measured cell survival only and did not show growth or reproduction, although authors note burial in regolith or transient liquid brines could extend survival or enable growth.
- Researchers warn that microbes shed by astronauts, suits, tools or hardware could contaminate landing sites and alter chemical or organic signals in returned lunar samples, complicating scientific analysis for Artemis missions.
- Study authors and reporters call for baseline microbial surveys at candidate sites, stricter contamination tracking and controls, higher-resolution modeling, and targeted laboratory and field tests to refine planetary-protection plans.