<
https://www.theguardian.com/science/article/2024/jun/30/scientists-find-desert-moss-that-can-survive-on-mars>
"While Matt Damon relied on potatoes cultivated in crew biowaste to survive in
the hit film The Martian, researchers say it is a humble desert moss that might
prove pivotal to establishing life on Mars.
Scientists in China say they have found
Syntrichia caninervis – a moss found
in regions including Antarctica and the Mojave desert – is able to withstand
Mars-like conditions, including drought, high levels of radiation and extreme
cold.
The team say their work is the first to look the survival of whole plants in
such an environment, while it also focuses on the potential for growing plants
on the planet’s surface, rather than in greenhouses.
“The unique insights obtained in our study lay the foundation for outer space
colonisation using naturally selected plants adapted to extreme stress
conditions,” the team write.
Prof Stuart McDaniel, an expert on moss at the University of Florida and who
was not involved in the study, suggested the idea had merits.
“Cultivating terrestrial plants is an important part of any long-term space
mission because plants efficiently turn carbon dioxide and water into oxygen
and carbohydrates – essentially the air and food that humans need to survive.
Desert moss is not edible, but it could provide other important services in
space,” he said.
Dr Agata Zupanska, of the SETI Institute, agreed, noting moss could help enrich
and transform the rocky material found on the surface of Mars to enable other
plants grow.
“Otherwise, moss is not tasty and does not make a great addition to the salad,”
she said."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
