Amazing stuff!
"... moss. It colonizes some of the harshest environments on Earth, including lava fields and the Antarctic tundra.
First, they tested three moss life stages—juveniles, specialized stress-caused stem cells, and encapsulated spores called sporophytes—in the lab under UV radiation, extreme high and low temperatures, and a vacuum. The sporophytes performed best, leading the team to hypothesize that the structure surrounding the spore evolved during the transition from aquatic to terrestrial life as a protective physical and chemical barrier.
Then, the researchers launched hundreds of sporophytes on an ISS-bound spacecraft in March 2022 for astronauts to attach outside of the space station. After 283 days, the moss returned to Earth, where researchers determined that over 80% had survived and 89% of the survivors were still able to germinate. Extrapolating from their experiments using mathematical models, the researchers predict that such moss spores could survive 15 years in space.
“We were genuinely astonished by the extraordinary durability of these tiny plant cells,”... “Ultimately, we hope this work opens a new frontier toward constructing ecosystems in extraterrestrial environments such as the Moon and Mars.”"
From the highlights and abstract:
"Highlights
• P. patens spores survive simulated space conditions with high resilience
• Over 80% of spores remained viable after 9 months outside the ISS
• Sporangium may provide protection against UV, heat, and intensive light stresses
• Bryophyte could be used for planetary greening and life support systems
Summary
... Plants, as photosynthetic organisms, play a vital role in sustaining life. Bryophytes, such as mosses, show notable extremotolerance, but despite studies on environmental responses in the model moss Physcomitrium patens, its survival under extreme conditions in space remains unclear.
We tested protonemata, brood cells, and spores encased in sporangium under simulated space environments, identifying spores as the most resilient, and subsequently exposed them to the space environment outside the International Space Station.
After 9 months in space, over 80% of the spores survived, retaining their ability to germinate.
These results demonstrate the remarkable resilience of P. patens spores in space and reveal the potential of terrestrial plants to endure extreme environments, providing insight into bryophyte adaptation and offering a foundation for future applications in space exploration and extraterrestrial habitats."
Extreme environmental tolerance and space survivability of the moss, Physcomitrium patens (open access)
Graphical abstract
