The Moon is a vacuum environment with minimal gravitational force, which hinders the creation of an atmosphere, allowing space debris to directly and swiftly impact its surface.
The Moon is subjected to intense radiation, with daytime temperatures reaching up to 127 degrees Celsius, while nighttime temperatures drop to -183 degrees Celsius, and there is no liquid water!
While some argue that the existence of extraterrestrial life should be determined by life on Earth, the search for life beyond Earth is crucial. Without investigating life beyond Earth, all conjectures would remain baseless and mere speculation.
The southern polar region of the Moon is characterized by numerous volcanic craters and rugged terrain, starkly contrasting with the cold, relatively flat plains explored by Apollo astronauts in the 1970s. However, it is the deep craters surrounding the pole that may hold the key to building self-sustaining lunar bases, specifically in the form of frozen water in the shaded regions of these deep craters. Image: Science
According to a report released by NASA, NASA’s Artemis 3 mission is set to launch to the Moon in 2025, which could help planetary scientist Prabal Saxena from NASA validate his bold speculations. He believes that microorganisms brought from Earth on previous space missions could potentially survive in permanently shadowed polar craters on the Moon’s south pole.
While current scientific consensus suggests the Moon lacks life and certain habitable conditions found on other celestial bodies, Saxena contends that the Moon’s far side offers potential habitable regions that could serve as secure havens for microbial life. Regarding the origin of these microorganisms, Saxena posits that they are not native but were brought and have survived multiple human lunar missions.
The possibility of microbial life on the Moon may have been transported there by various lunar lander missions. Therefore, Artemis 3 will focus on exploring the Moon’s far side, an uncharted territory.
Artemis 3 is a pivotal mission in NASA’s 21st-century Artemis program, aimed at returning humans to the Moon. Unlike the Moon landings of the 1960s and 1970s, NASA envisions a more advanced and extensive exploration of Earth’s natural satellite. The goal is to transform the Moon into a research hub for scientists and a stepping stone for future missions to Mars. Image: Science
Scientists are aware of the presence of ice on the Moon’s far side, which some researchers believe could be used to produce water and other resources to support lunar base construction. These ice layers could also serve as safe havens for potential microbial life, as they are shielded from the harmful solar radiation.
Saxena is confident in his speculations, yet he remains cautious, acknowledging that even if no microbial life is discovered on the Moon’s far side, it does not rule out the possibility of future discoveries. As humans continue to explore the Moon, adaptable microorganisms could potentially establish themselves after surviving and adapting to the lunar environment, eventually growing and reproducing.
Experts believe that if any microorganisms exist on the Moon, they could have arrived there through space-borne meteorites. However, there is also the possibility that these hardy microorganisms, capable of withstanding extreme conditions, originated from Earth and hitched a ride on the Apollo 11 Moon landing mission in 1969. Image: Science
In reality, the claims made by NASA planetary scientist Prabal Saxena are still speculative and lack concrete evidence. Many scientists, such as Heather Graham, an organic geochemist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, take a more cautious approach, emphasizing the importance of substantial evidence. Graham stated, “We consider Earth’s organisms to be the most likely agents for bringing life to the Moon. This is based on a substantial body of evidence from the history of lunar exploration and the known impacts of human activities on the Moon in the 20th century.”
Even if current microbial life is not present on the Moon, resilient radiation-resistant organisms like tardigrades (scientific name: Macrobiotus sapiens) or Deinococcus radiodurans bacteria may thrive through lunar exploration activities in the Artemis program.
Heather Graham believes that these microorganisms not only have the potential to survive lunar missions but also to thrive and evolve on the Moon.
This is indeed a contemporary and intriguing concept, but ultimately, without reliable data, it remains speculative.