Earth critters possibly colonizing moon after 2019 crash! Here’s what you need to know

In 2019, the Beresheet space probe, an unmanned lunar lander developed by SpaceIL and Israel Aerospace Industries with support from the Israel Space Agency, met an unfortunate end by crashing into the moon. This incident led to the dispersal of its unique cargo, including tardigrades, across the moon’s surface. Tardigrades, often referred to as water bears, are tiny organisms celebrated for their extreme resilience across various environments. Yet, the moon presents an entirely different challenge for survival.

The mission, launched on February 22, 2019, aimed for a gentle landing on the Mare Serenitatis region of the moon on April 11, intending to send back data for approximately two days. However, a critical engine failure resulted in the spacecraft’s crash landing.

Among the notable contents aboard Beresheet were the tardigrades, known for their extraordinary survival capabilities, such as withstanding temperatures up to 150°C and as low as nearly absolute zero. These creatures were dehydrated and put into a state of suspended animation for the journey. The mission also carried a “lunar library,” akin to a futuristic DVD, which housed a 30-million-page archive of human history accessible via microscopes, and samples of human DNA.

Nova Spivack, from the Arch Mission Foundation, expressed high hopes for the tardigrades’ survival post-crash, given their proven durability in extreme conditions.

Further studies, as reported by Science Alert, have explored the survival odds of tardigrades in space conditions. Experiments showed that Hypsibius dujardini, a species of tardigrade, could survive impacts at speeds lower than 2,600 km/h. Considering the Beresheet crash was less severe than this threshold, it raises the possibility of tardigrades enduring the lunar crash. However, the absence of liquid water on the moon, essential for their rehydration and revival, poses a significant barrier to their survival in this new environment.