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Picture Courtesy: Indian Express

Context:

A team of scientists has found that moss can survive a prolonged trip to space. As part of a study, a handful of moss spores survived nine months exposed to low-orbit conditions, with 80% of them still able to reproduce once back in a lab on Earth.

About Moss:

Nature:
Mosses are simple, non-vascular land plants that reproduce using spores instead of seeds. They fall under the plant group Bryophyta, which represents some of the earliest plant lineages to colonise terrestrial environments.

Background:
They are considered among the oldest land plants, with their origins tracing back hundreds of millions of years. Fossil records from periods such as the Permian, and later from the Paleogene and Neogene, show that mosses have had a long and stable evolutionary presence, indicating their exceptional adaptability.

Distribution:
Mosses are found across almost all climatic regions of the world, from polar ice fields to tropical forests. Their absence in marine saltwater environments is notable, but they thrive in nearly every other habitat, including freshwater systems, rocks, tree trunks, and soil surfaces.

Habitats:
Typically associated with moist, shaded, and nutrient-poor locations, mosses are highly resilient and capable of establishing themselves in environments where many other plants cannot survive—such as Antarctic landscapes, volcanic terrains, deserts, and exposed rock surfaces. Their ability to tolerate dehydration, freeze-thaw cycles, and nutrient scarcity helps them act as pioneer species.

Diversity:
Globally, more than ten thousand species of mosses have been identified. These are broadly grouped into three major categories—

• Peat mosses (known for water retention and forming peatlands),
• Granite mosses (adapted to rocky and high-altitude terrain), and
• True mosses (the most diverse and widely distributed group).

This diversity allows mosses to occupy a wide range of ecological roles.

Reproduction:
Mosses propagate through spores, which function much like seeds in higher plants but are produced without flowers or fruits. These spores are highly resistant and allow mosses to disperse over large distances and establish quickly in new environments.

Why moss spores surviving months is important?

• Redefines the limits of life in extreme environments: The ability of moss spores to withstand vacuum, cosmic radiation, microgravity, and severe temperature fluctuations demonstrates that life can tolerate far harsher conditions than previously understood. This expands the scientific understanding of how far biological resilience can stretch beyond Earth. 

• Strengthens theories on the spread of life across planets: The long-term survival of plant spores in space gives new weight to ideas such as panspermia and lithopanspermia, which propose that life or its basic units—could travel between celestial bodies. Until now, these ideas relied mainly on microbial studies; moss spores add a multicellular plant dimension to the debate. 

• Opens pathways for bioregenerative life-support systems: Future habitats on the Moon or Mars require closed-loop ecological systems. Mosses can contribute to these by generating oxygen through photosynthesis, moderating humidity in enclosed environments, and initiating early soil-forming processes on barren surfaces. Their resilience makes them ideal candidates for low-maintenance biological modules in space habitats. 

• Enables the possibility of “Green” infrastructure beyond earth: Proving that moss can survive, return, and reproduce after a long stay in orbit suggests that certain plants could one day support eco-engineering in extraterrestrial settlements. Mosses are known to colonise new surfaces rapidly, making them potential pioneer species for greening controlled lunar or Martian environments. 

• Enhances planetary protection and biosecurity concerns: If hardy plant spores can survive the journey through space, they can potentially contaminate other worlds. This forces a rethinking of forward contamination (Earth life inadvertently reaching other planets), and backward contamination (extreme organisms returning to Earth). It adds a new layer of complexity to planetary protection protocols. 

• Adds valuable insights for astrobiology research: Understanding how moss spores protect themselves—through multilayered walls, biochemical shielding, or dormancy—helps researchers identify what forms of extraterrestrial life might look like. Moss survival data becomes a model for studying life’s potential on bodies like Mars, Europa, or Titan. 

Conclusion:
The survival of moss spores in space shows that simple plant life can tolerate extreme extraterrestrial conditions, broadening our understanding of life’s resilience and offering practical pathways for future space habitats. It strengthens astrobiological theories, supports bioregenerative life-support systems, and informs safer planetary exploration and settlement strategies.

Source: Indian Express