Life on the moon is possible, says NASA scientist

Anyone who has watched the movie 'Interstellar' has certainly thought about the possibility of humans becoming the aliens of the future.

See too: Scientists discover rare ocean planet twice the size of Earth

A NASA researcher named Prabal Saxena says there is a high possibility that new space missions will find terrestrial microorganisms living on the moon.

According to the specialist's speech, findings by his research team show that there is a possibility that some celestial bodies are potentially habitable. In this case, the habitat would be directed only to certain microorganisms, in specific regions of these objects.

In the case of the moon, some craters with permanent shadows can keep alive microorganisms that were “expelled” from the moon. Earth at some point, for example.

Saxane is one of the researchers who can offer opinions on the best landing regions on the Artemis III mission. This NASA mission has precisely the objective of visiting the moon again soon.

How did life get from Earth to space?

During Earth's history, there have been dozens or hundreds of collisions between celestial bodies, such as asteroids and comets, which came from deep space and collided with Earth.

These collisions could have launched debris from Earth into space, including microorganisms present in extreme environments such as volcanoes, deserts or underground regions.

These microorganisms, called extremophiles, have amazing adaptability. They can survive in harsh conditions such as high temperatures, extreme pressures and lack of nutrients. It is believed that some may have withstood the hostile environment of space and survived trips interplanetary.

An interesting example is the case of tardigrades, also known as water bears. These tiny microscopic animals are known for their extreme endurance and ability to survive in harsh environments.

Scientific studies have shown that they can survive conditions that no other living thing can withstand, such as exposure to vacuum, radiation and extreme temperature variations in space.

So it's conceivable that they could potentially reach the moon or other celestial bodies. However, their survival outside Earth's protected environment is still the subject of scientific debate.

It is important to note that, so far, there is no conclusive evidence that Earth microorganisms exist on celestial bodies such as the moon. Studies and space missions have been carried out to investigate this possibility, but the results are still inconclusive.