Space moss: Life reboot of Syntrichia caninervis in the extraterrestrial in-orbit environment

Résumé fourni par la source

The scale application of plants in space is severely limited by their high-energy dependence on life support systems and poor extreme stress tolerance. To address the extremely limited resources and harsh conditions of deep space exploration, a highly resilient pioneer species is urgently needed to construct low-maintenance micro-ecosystems. This study investigates the in-orbit resuscitation and survival potential of the extremely tolerant desert moss, Syntrichia caninervis , aiming to verify its viability as a foundation species for extraterrestrial habitation. A specialized moss culture cabin payload was designed and deployed on the Qingzhou experimental spacecraft. Desiccated S. caninervis were securely fixed using a 1.4% high-concentration biocompatible agar layer to resist launch vibrations. A closed in-orbit micro-ecosystem was operated using a precisely controlled 1.5 mL water supply to trigger resuscitation. Continuous imaging with a 10 × stereoscopic camera was used to document visible morphological changes following rehydration. Following the delivery of a small volume of water in orbit, the desiccated moss exhibited rapid, visible morphological recovery, demonstrating that rehydration can occur during orbital flight within a protected, environmentally controlled payload. Crucially, continuous monitoring over a period of 135 days showed that the moss consistently remained alive following resuscitation, providing direct evidence of its capacity for long-term survival in space. S. caninervis demonstrated exceptional life-rebooting capabilities in an extraterrestrial in-orbit environment. Utilizing the natural dormancy of this species significantly reduces energy requirements, supporting its further evaluation in low-maintenance space biological systems for in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) and initial ecological amelioration in early-stage lunar and Martian bases.

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