Space agency scientists claim that the lunar south pole has the conditions for the development of microbial life.
The debate over whether there is life or not in other places in space this is not new but a recent statement by scientists from the Jar encourages the possibility that this is the case, and that it might be closer to planet Earth than we think.
Our natural satellite, the Moon, has very different conditions than our planet. There is no wind, there are no oceans or rivers, nor an atmosphere with the density to protect it from meteorites (which explains its hundreds of craters), in addition to radiation and changes extreme temperatures that we thought made life impossible on the celestial body.
Why NASA Thinks There Could Be Life on the Moon
Nevertheless, Prabal Saxena planetary scientist NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), noted that It is not entirely accurate to say that there is no life on the Moon.
“Given recent research on the beaches in which certain microbial life can survive, there may be potentially habitable niches for this life in relatively sheltered areas in some airless bodies,” he told the site. Space.com .
According to Saxena and members of the study team investigating the possibility of life on the natural satellite, the south pole of the Moon stands out for its features that could allow the the survival and episodic growth of some type of microbial life.
The scientist explained that in this area of the Moon there are super cold craters at which the Sun does not shine, due to permanent shadow, for this reason are not exposed to the harmful radiation of its rays which makes possible a favorable place for the survival of microbes capable of living in extreme conditions.
Super cold craters with water ice that have been identified using the instrument NASA Lunar Mineralogy Mapper (M3) and this could be the key to the possibility of finding organisms.
And it’s because of that permanent shadow and ice craters that this specific region of the Moon is considered a priority for research, as it is presumed that it is very rich in resources.
“We are working to understand which specific organisms may be best adapted to survive in these regions,” Saxena said.
And it is that there have already been records of organisms capable of surviving extreme environments, as is the case of bacteria Deinococcus radioduransnicknamed Conan the bacteria which proved capable of surviving the extreme conditions of Mars after a series of tests by scientists who simulated conditions on the Red Planet, including: desiccation, freezing and radiation .
Heather Graham organic geochemist at Nasa Goddard and member of the study team responsible for determining if there is life on the Moon, assured that it is very probable that the possible existence of microbes on the Moon be the work of man as they are the primary vector for these organisms due to the exploration and landing of lunar modules, which may be responsible for transporting terrestrial microbes to the Moon.
“We consider humans to be the most likely vector given the large amount of data we have about our exploration history,” he said in the report. Space.com .
It is planned that for the phase of artemis iii human landing on the Moon scheduled for 2025, can be studied and hopefully detect any form of life on the lunar surface.
Artemis program
NASA’s Artemis program, named after its successor to the Apollo program and twin in Greek mythology, seeks to send four astronauts to the lunar surface to test and demonstrate new technologies, capabilities, and business approaches for future exploration, as well as learn more about the origin and history of the Earth, Moon, and galaxy.
This has several phases, the first, Artemis I was held at the end of 2022, mission developed with test dummies to test the Orion capsule , before its manned flight. In addition to deploying satellites focused on taking detailed photographs of the lunar south pole and thus better defining the landing site for the next mission.
its second stage, Artemis II is planned for 2024 and it will be with crew but it will not land on the moon, however it will be a historical fact because It’s been more than 50 years since a crew of astronauts reached the Moon i.e. from the Apollo program.
The astronauts were revealed on April 3, with christina coch who will become the first woman to set foot on the Moon, along with winning glover , wise reid And Jeremy Hanson .
The third phase of the program, Artemis III, scheduled for 2025, will be the moon landing, for which 13 regions near the lunar south pole have been identified, whose scientists and engineers have evaluated the slope of the terrain, the ease of communication with the Earth and lighting conditions.
NASA will select sites in regions for Artemis III after having determined the launch dates of the mission, which will determine the transfer trajectories and the environmental conditions of the surface.
Source: Latercera
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