There could be life on the Moon after all: the tardigrades, thousands of virtually indestructible beings who can withstand extreme radiation, stifling heat, the coldest temperatures in the universe, and decades without food.
These beings are not extraterrestrials, but microscopic Terrians, who would have survived after the Israeli probe Bereshit crashed in April on the Moon. "We believe that the chances of survival of tardigrades are extremely high," Nova Spivack, a co-founder of the Arch Mission Foundation, told AFP.
The association is dedicated to the dissemination of human knowledge and the biology of the Earth throughout the solar system, a kind of "Encyclopedia Galactica", as imagined by the science fiction author Isaac Asimov.
"The tardigrades are perfect to store because they are microscopic, multicellular and they are one of the most enduring life forms on the planet Earth," said Spivack, adding that small creatures of less than one millimeter had been dehydrated then "enclosed in epoxy glue, and should be resuscitated in the future".
"Lunar library"
The tardigrades were stored in a "lunar library", a DVD-like nanotechnology device that contains an archive of 30 million pages of human history that can be viewed under a microscope, as well as human DNA. This one would have also surely resisted the accident according to Nova Spivack.
Also known as the Water Pooh, these eight-legged, larval-like animals can live in water or on land, survive temperatures from 150 to -272 degrees Celsius, at almost constant pressures. -nulles in space or crush the Mariana Trench and come back to life after being dried up for decades.
If they were not decimated by an explosion, they could in theory survive the living conditions of the lunar surface, extreme temperatures and a tiny pressure, told AFP William Miller, an expert in late-war Baker University, Kansas.
"But to become active, to grow, to feed and to reproduce, they would need water, air and food", which makes the formation of a colony of these beasts impossible. -He specifies.
But even if the creatures survive for several years, no crewed mission is planned on the Moon before NASA's Artemis program in 2024 at the South Pole - far from the site of the Bereshit crash in the Sea of Serenity, the animals will probably never come home.
With AFP