The moon is a hard place to stay alive without a space suit. It has radiation, extreme temperatures and a lack of water. However, researchers at the University of Maryland found in a recent study that microbes like bacteria and fungi from earth can still survive on the austere satellite orbiting our planet.
The study sheds new light on how NASA and other organizations studying the moon need to be careful when collecting samples and sending humans or equipment to the moon.
“We want to preserve the scientific record that the moon represents,” said Stephano Bertone, an associate research scientist in the University of Maryland’s Department of Astronomy. “We don’t want to contaminate and just assume that everything will reset.”
