In the popular movie The Martian, Matt Damon survived by eating potatoes grown from crew biowaste. However, scientists believe that a common desert moss could play a crucial role in developing life on Mars. Chinese scientists have discovered that Syntrichia caninervis, a type of moss that grows in the Mojave desert and Antarctica, can survive harsh weather conditions similar to those on Mars, such as intense heat, radiation, and dryness.

The study's groundbreaking discoveries set the stage for the use of naturally selected plants that are highly stress-tolerant to colonize space ~


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The theory held potential, according to University of Florida moss expert Prof. Stuart McDaniel, who was not engaged with the study. Any long-term space expedition must include the cultivation of terrestrial plants since these organisms effectively convert carbon dioxide and water into oxygen and carbohydrates, which are the food and air that people need to thrive. Although desert moss cannot be eaten, it may offer other valuable functions in space. In agreement, Dr. Agata Zupanska of the SETI Institute pointed out that moss may assist in enhancing and changing the stony soil on Mars' surface so that other plants could flourish. She claimed that moss was unappealing on its own and did not offer any value to the salad. Chinese researchers have documented how desert moss not only survived but also quickly recovered from near-total dehydration in a paper published in the journal 'The Innovation'. 

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Next, the group assembled a system with Martian-like pressures, temperatures, gasses, and UV radiation. It was discovered that the moss could thrive in this Mars-like habitat and could even regrow in normal growth conditions after being exposed for seven days. The group also observed that plants that had been dried before this treatment fared better. “Looking to the future, we expect that this promising moss could be brought to Mars or the moon to further test the possibility of plant colonization and growth in outer space,” the researchers write.

McDaniel noted most plants cannot withstand the stresses of space travel. “These findings are exciting because they show that desert moss survives short exposures to some of the stresses that are likely to be found on a trip to Mars, including very high levels of radiation, very cold temperatures, and very low oxygen levels,” he said. But he added the research had limitations.“These experiments represent an important first step, but they do not show that the moss could be a significant source of oxygen under Martian conditions, nor do they show that the desert moss could reproduce and proliferate in the Martian context,” McDaniel said.

Zupanska added that, among other problems, the study did not test the impact of particulate radiation. “In my opinion, we are getting close to growing plants in extraterrestrial greenhouses, and most certainly has a place in those,” she said. “Implying that moss, or any other pioneering species, is ready to terraform Mars, or any other outer planet, is an exaggeration.” Dr Wieger Wamelink of Wageningen University, also raised concerns, including that temperatures on the red planet rarely get above freezing, making outdoor plant growth impossible, while the new study did not use Mars-like soil. “The mosses were treated under Mars circumstances for a maximum of several days and then regrown under Earth conditions on sand,” he said. “This, of course, does not show at all that they can grow under Mars conditions.”

However, Prof Edward Guinan of Villanova University in the US described the study as impressive. “This extremotolerant moss could be a promising pioneer plant for Mars colonization,” he said, although he noted the moss would need water to grow. “We have a long way to go,” he said. “But this lowly desert moss offers hope for making small portions of Mars habitable for humankind in the future.”