Super moss able to survive in Mars
Scientists have identified a super resilient desert moss species in China’s western region of Xinjiang that could help sustain possible colonies on Mars, a study by the Chinese Academy of Sciences showed.
When subjected to conditions that simulate the environment on Mars, the moss – Syntrichia Caninervis – was found to be able to withstand extreme dryness, ultra-low temperatures and radiation
China is a propaganda machine, so we may have to take this groundbreaking announcement with a pinch of salt. However, should this super moss really exist, inhabitation on Mars may not be an elusive reality.
As an ex-Science teacher, I taught my impressionable 9-year-olds about how mosses are non-flowering plants and reproduce through spores. This news would be something that will capture their imagination!
I'm all for seeding Mars with all the spores and microbes that might be able to survive. Let's get the terraforming underway.
TIL the meaning of terraforming
It's either keeping mars sterile or seeding a diverse and balanced biosphere. If we seed mars with a small biased microbiology we could accidentally skew it too far from earths biology and make it unlivable for humans. Maybe. Nobody knows for sure.
Too bad that I will probably perish before I witness such earth-shattering changes
That's true, but the first step is just finding stuff that can survive at all, so that an ecology can build out around it.
Even if the result is unlivable for humans, other outcomes could still be valuable. For instance, whatever can survive will be converting compounds in the surface into gases, which will increase atmospheric pressure and one of the big problems with Mars is its low atmospheric pressure.
@cryotosensei, welcome to my humble ~science territory. Everyday, I checked if I'd see a sight of you, and lo and behold, the sensei has honored me with his presence. Welcome and enjoy a healthy mix of science and pseudoscience, crackpot theories and interesting fait-divers...
I did post once before on biophilic design. But I get your point. I will post here more often. I’m quite okay about spending 100 sats haha
I automatically tip the 100 sats one spends here. I got too much spam at the beginning. But let me try to see if reducing it again might increase volume while maintaining quality...
We could always shoot some cockroaches to Mars and they could help terraform it.
I had the exact same thought. But what good are cockroaches, really? Can they be fried n eaten, even?
Its an old anime. Terrra formars https://m.stacker.news/38850
This is exciting news, and I'm sure your pupils will be fascinated by it. Just our collective intent to colonise Mars will spur an avalanche of innovation we cannot even dream of yet. Those 9yo may well be the first to colonise Mars?!
For China, the Earth needs no invention or innovation. It is aiming for creating some living conditions of Mars!
What did China invent in modern times? I never care when something comes from China. Truly, a propoganda machine!!
Don't be fooled, China has evolved from copying western tech into producing some own amazing stuff. Made in China is not always a symbol anymore of low quality...
Don't let the Western propaganda about Chinese propaganda keep you blind about what's happening in the world.
Gunpowder, idiot.
9th century AD can't be called modern times.
cool!
A strong step toward the future colonization of the human species on Mars! We need oxygen and food sources on Mars!
If we ever plan to live on mar this plant could contribute to oxygen production, carbon sequestration, and soil fertility, thereby supporting the establishment and maintenance of an ecosystem on Mars.
Very cool if true.
Every State is a propagandist machine. USA most of all.