The custom of viewing the moon during the Mid-Autumn Festival is part of traditional Chinese culture, and it stems from the worship of the moon by ancient people, and legend has it that the moon has beautiful Chang'e and cute jade rabbits. However, modern science has proven that these are just myths and legends.
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite and the first stop for human exploration of space. Since American astronauts first landed on the moon in 1969, human exploration of the moon has never stopped. Ironically, humans have never found signs of life on the moon, but have voluntarily brought it life.
On April 11, 2019, Israel launched a lunar probe called Beresheet, trying to become the fourth country to land on the moon. However, during the landing, due to engine failure and communication loss, the probe hit the lunar surface at a speed of 500 kilometers per hour, causing a huge explosion and bringing the moon the gift of Earth - thousands of tardigrades.
The probe carries a device called the Lunar Library, which contains the equivalent of 30 million pages of human history that can be read under a microscope, as well as human DNA samples and thousands of dehydrated tardigrades. The tardigrades were provided by the Arch Mission Foundation, which aims to store human knowledge and biology in different locations in the solar system in case of a devastating event on Earth.
The tardigrade is a tiny arthropod that belongs to the most primitive group of invertebrates. They are generally no more than 1 mm long, have eight legs and a chubby body. They usually live in water or humid environments, such as mosses, algae, soil, etc. Their diet includes microorganisms such as bacteria, algae, fungi, etc.
Jeldigrades were sent to the moon because of their amazing survivability. They can survive extreme temperature, pressure, radiation, dryness, lack of oxygen, and even in space. Their secret is that they can enter a dormant state through dehydration. In this state, their metabolism almost stops and the water content decreases to less than 1%, but as soon as they are exposed to water again, they can return to normal. Scientists have experimented with re-immersing some water bears that have been suspended animation for 120 years into water, and found that some have been successfully revived.
As a result, tardigrades are considered to be one of the strongest life forms on Earth and one of the best candidates for space exploration. In fact, in 2007 and 2011, scientists sent tardigrades into space and exposed them to vacuum and intense radiation. It was found that some tardigrades not only survived, but also reproduced.
So, are these tardigrades still alive after the probe crashed? Nova Spivack, president of the Arch Mission Foundation, said he believes the chances of tardigrades surviving are very high. "We think tardigrades are ideal because they are multicellular microbes and one of the most enduring life forms on Earth," he said. We think they have a high chance of surviving on the moon, even if damaged in an explosion. ”
If tardigrades do survive on the moon, what effect would they have on the moon? First of all, let's be clear that tardigrades are not alien life, but life on Earth. They were sent to the moon not to search for lunar life or create lunar life, but to store life on Earth. Therefore, they are not part of the original environment of the moon, but are a human-introduced pollution.
Under the Outer Space Treaty, no State or organization should intentionally or unintentionally pollute or alter the environment of other celestial bodies in space. This is to protect natural resources and scientific value in space, as well as to avoid potential harm to Earth or other celestial bodies.
However, the Israeli probe crash was not intentional, but an accident. "We didn't have any official permission or approval, and we didn't notify anyone," Spivak said. It's an unofficial project and we just wanted to do something fun. ”
Due to the strong survivability of tardigrades, one has to wonder whether the moon will be occupied by this powerful microbial in the near future and establish a civilization belonging to tardigrades?
#水熊虫#