Moooss iiiiiin spaaaace!
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
Moss is one of the hardiest plants. It can survive volcanic lava fields and the peaks of the Himalayas! But… Can moss survive… in space?
Chang-hyun Maeng from Hokkaido University and team investigated! They attached moss to the outside of the international space station.
For nine months, the plants were exposed to the vacuum of space and solar radiation.
And? Where most species would die, EIGHTY percent of the moss survived! This is likely due to a protective barrier from the radiation called ‘sporangium’.
Moss could help us design space agriculture!
Eating in zero-g has always been messy, but now it could be mossy!
Reference: Maeng, C. H., Hiwatashi, Y., Nakamura, K., Matsuda, O., Mita, H., Tomita-Yokotani, K., Yokobori, S. I., Yamagishi, A., Kume, A., & Fujita, T. (2025). Extreme environmental tolerance and space survivability of the moss, Physcomitrium patens. iScience, 28(12), 113827. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2025.113827