As humans wait to find out who will be the first person to land on Mars, a new study may have identified the first plant that will help colonize Mars. It’s not some hybrid flower or genetically engineered organism — it’s moss! Specifically, researchers say a desert-dwelling moss called Syntrichia caninervis can survive extreme conditions that would kill most other plants.
In a new study published in The Innovation, researchers put this tiny but tough plant through a gauntlet of tests simulating the harsh Martian environment. The results suggest S. caninervis could potentially grow on Mars, paving the way for future human settlements.
“Our study shows that the environmental resilience of S. caninervis is superior to that of some of highly stress-tolerant microorganisms and tardigrades,” according to the research team, who include ecologists Daoyuan Zhang and Yuanming Zhang and botanist Tingyun Kuang of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in a media release. “S. caninervis is a promising candidate pioneer plant for colonizing extraterrestrial environments, laying the foundation for building biologically sustainable human habitats beyond Earth.”
S. caninervis is found in some of Earth’s most inhospitable places, including scorching deserts and frigid mountain peaks. It forms crusty mats on the soil surface, helping to prevent erosion and retain precious water in arid regions.
The researchers subjected the moss to a battery of extreme conditions in the lab. They found it could lose over 98% of its water content and spring back to life within seconds of being rehydrated. It survived being frozen at -112°F for five years. Perhaps most impressively, it withstood radiation levels 2,000 times higher than what’s lethal to humans.
Finally, the team placed S. caninervis in a special chamber simulating multiple aspects of the Martian environment simultaneously – including low atmospheric pressure, extreme temperature swings, and intense UV radiation. The hardy moss survived up to a week in these Mars-like conditions.
“Our results indicate that S. caninervis is among the most radiation-tolerant organisms known,” the researchers write.
Those adaptations include tightly overlapping leaves that conserve water, and hair-like structures on the leaf tips that reflect excess sunlight. At the cellular level, the moss can rapidly shut down its metabolism when conditions are unfavorable, then quickly reactivate when things improve.
While no plant could survive indefinitely on the Martian surface as-is, S. caninervis could potentially grow in sheltered microhabitats or in greenhouse structures with some environmental controls. As a “pioneer species,” it could help transform the alien Martian landscape into something more hospitable for other organisms.
“Although there is still a long way to go to create self-sufficient habitats on other planets, we demonstrated the great potential of S. caninervis as a pioneer plant for growth on Mars,” the researchers conclude. “Looking to the future, we expect that this promising moss could be brought to Mars or the Moon to further test the possibility of plant colonization and growth in outer space.”
Of course, considerable technological hurdles remain before we can seriously contemplate Martian moss gardens. But this research highlights how Earth’s most resilient organisms might one day help us colonize other worlds. The first Martian settlers may find an unlikely ally in the humble moss.