If NASA’s plans go well politically, technically, and financially, the United States will place new paths on the moon by the end of 2025. This landing occurred during a mission calledArtemis-3 It will be the first manned landing on the moon since the Apollo 17 rover blew up gray dust in December 1972.

Artemis-3 will be the first of a series of human missions to the polar research field Artemis — The region at the pole of 84 degrees south latitude. Choosing a safe and scientifically sound landing site for Artemis 3 is a challenge. But there is no doubt that we have great discoveries ahead, and one of the possible surprises could be the discovery of life on the Moon.

super cold craters

New research suggests that visitors to the Moon’s south pole region should look for evidence of life in ultra-cold, permanently shadowed craters; Soil. Prabal Saxena, a planetary scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, suggested that microbial life could potentially survive in harsh conditions near the moon’s south pole.

“One of the most striking things our team has discovered is that there may be potentially habitable niches for such life in relatively sheltered areas in some airless bodies, given recent research into the ranges in which certain microbial life can live,” Saxena told Space. Said. .com.

Really, south pole of the moon Saxena may have properties that could allow certain microbial life to survive and potentially even grow episodically.

“We are currently trying to understand which organisms might be most suitable for survival in such regions and which areas of the moon’s polar regions might be most suitable for supporting life, including areas of interest for research,” he said.

In a paper presented at a recent scientific workshop on the potential landing sites of Artemis 3, Saxena and research participants reported that the moon’s south pole may contain important surface niches that could potentially be suitable for a variety of microorganisms.

The history of the world is on ice

Is it possible that examples of Earth’s history are hiding in the sun’s lunar craters?

Small pieces of our planet may have been hurled to the moon as “terrestrial meteorites,” rocks that were carried into space by powerful cosmic influences. It’s actually possible, said Heather Graham, an organic geochemist at NASA Goddard and a member of the research team. But that doesn’t mean that terrestrial microbes also survived this journey into deep space.

“Although extraterrestrial transfer of organic molecules from meteorite sources is very likely and indeed has been observed in our own analysis of terrestrial meteorites, the transfer germs information from similar sources does not carry the same weight of evidence,” Graham said. “This might be an interesting idea, but without valid data this route cannot be included in this study.”

More importantly, Graham said the research team was well aware that humans are the largest carrier of microbes on the moon.

“Soon we will have 50 years of human and object history on the surface without strict requirements for direct contamination,” he said.

“Given the extensive data we have on our research history and evidence of a second, albeit less effective, early terrestrial source, we consider humans to be the most likely vector,” added Graham.

Protected microniches

Graham noted that the research team’s approach to the problem didn’t necessarily have to be because they believed the Artemis missions would cause an immediate flood of germs near the moon’s south pole in a “dormitory refrigerator” scenario.

“Instead … we will almost certainly decompose the strong spores in shielded micronics where the maximum temperature and radiation shielding functions at that location will allow them to continue,” Graham said. “This is the end of the ‘survival’ scale with spores.”

Over time, Lunar explorations could continue to provide water and carbon resources to these places, which could one day drive growth, Graham said.

Artemis’ flight path

Paul Lucy of the Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa also estimates the possible impact of increased traffic on the moon.

“There is no doubt that the Artemis spacecraft’s final approaches will cause carbon dioxide and water ice to accumulate in permanently shadowed areas along the flight path, which could endanger some types of research,” Lucey told Space.com.

On the other hand, Lucey said our understanding of how lunar ice forms is currently sketchy. “So these will be very interesting experiments to do, provided the right equipment is provided.”

A comprehensive study of the amount of these compounds won’t be done on Artemis’ surface until the first missions, so unfortunately the natural background of the moon’s south pole will not be known, Lucey said. (An Artemis quest has been launched so far — Artemis 1flew into lunar orbit last fall.)

Lucey said the Moon’s north pole would be better protected, but spacecraft exhaust could be carried across the lunar surface, affecting the north as well.exosphere” — a very thin and diluted gas shell. Saxena concluded that considerations on how to explore a lunar field should be considered for future site assessment and transition planning if it is close to areas that could potentially be habitable niches.

“These planning tools, and the strategy, methods and tools that may be relevant, could also be valuable for Mars exploration,” he said.