Overview
- NASA-led researchers published a model that shows permanently or intermittently shadowed areas near the Moon’s south pole can create cold, low-radiation niches where some Earth microbes could remain viable for at least one Earth day.
- The team used LRO-derived elevation, temperature and radiation maps plus laboratory data on UV and heat tolerance to map survivable niches at Nobile Rim, Connecting Ridge and De Gerlache Rim ranging from miles-wide crater floors to boot-print-sized pockets.
- Of five microbes tested, the fungus Aspergillus niger proved most resilient to UV and drying and could survive longer than the others in some modeled locations, but none showed evidence they could grow or reproduce on the dry, airless surface.
- The findings highlight a practical gap for crewed missions because robotic hardware can be sterilized by high heat but that method cannot be applied to astronauts or their equipment, and humans continuously shed microbes that could contaminate samples.
- Researchers recommend immediate baseline microbial surveys of target sites, higher-resolution modeling and lab or field tests to refine contamination controls for Artemis-era landings and to protect future studies of lunar chemistry and potential biosignatures.