The lunar south pole has become a hotspot for the space community, especially recently, as NASA plans to land the Artemis space mission there. Now, a NASA scientist has shared a shocking revelation – life on the Moon could already exist, and it is humanity’s fault that it got there.
According to a report from Insider, NASA planetary scientist Prabal Saxena says that potentially habitable niches could provide a safe haven for microbial life in the Moon’s harsh environment. It’s not like Earth or other planets. The Moon doesn’t really have an atmosphere. As such, life has a difficult time surviving there.
However, the dead-looking landscape that makes up the Moon could be hiding signs of microbial life on the Moon, Saxena believes. Saxena spent a lot of time searching for alien life beyond the solar system. However, he recently began working with a team that has been looking for life much closer to home.
What is most intriguing about this theory is that Saxena and his team say the microbial life that may be sheltering in these niches on the Moon was likely delivered to our lunar satellite aboard lunar landers, like the historic Apollo landers. The Artemis III , mission is expected to focus on the lunar south pole. Astronauts are planning to land at one of 13 possible landing sites near this area.
Never has a human set foot in this area of the Moon. We do know that it is covered in ice. Some believe this ice can be used to make water or other substances on the Moon. This could help to encourage construction of a moon base. Some of these icy areas may be the safe havens for those microbes, as the sun’s harmful radiation never reaches those zones.
Even if life on the Moon doesn’t exist just yet, microbial life will likely find a solid foothold when humanity begins walking around on our lunar satellite in the not-so-distant future.
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