By: Cindy Pu

On June 30, 2024, Chinese scientists say they have discovered a species of moss that would survive in Mars. This type of moss called Synthrichia caninervis that is found in remote and harsh areas on Earth such as Antartica and the Mojave Desert in the US, making it suitable to survive in Mars.

Mars has an atmosphere made up of 95% carbon dioxide gas, high levels of radiation or heat, extreme cold, and low atmospheric pressure. Efforts have been ongoing to establish the viability of animal and plant life on Mars. On July 31, 2008, NASA’s Phoenix Mars lander landed on Mars and confirmed that there was a source of water on Mars called water ice. It’s made up of mostly water and a little bit of carbon dioxide. The scientists say that their work is the first of its kind researching how plants can survive on Mars’ surface.

The researchers in China said that now only did the moss survive the extreme conditions, but also recovered from the loss of water quickly. The scientists had dried this moss up on purpose to see if it could rehydrate.

Professor Stuart McDaniel, from the University of Florida, who wasn’t part of the experiment but said that the tests on the moss showed that it can survive short exposures of stresses that are likely to be found on the trip to Mars, including high and low temperatures, and very low oxygen levels. They will probably bring this moss to Mars by a powerful propulsion system.

Scientists think that this successful moss experiment will encourage more people to study growing plants on the Martian surface. They hope that sometime in the future, the moss will be brought to the moon or Mars to test its growth away from Earth.

Professor Edward Guinan, from Villanova University, described the experiment as impressive. He also said, “this lowly desert moss offers hope for making small portions of Mars habitable for humankind in the future.”

Image Credit by Lucas Pezeta