An Australian space initiative aims to grow plants on the Moon by 2025, linking Lunaria One with universities in the southern hemisphere and Israel, in collaboration with a Spanish start-up.
The project participates in Space Madrid, a private venture built by a team of engineers specializing in thermal, structural, and fluid mechanics. The goal is to ensure reliable orbital operation for the Beresheet II mission and to avoid the issues that troubled Beresheet I on April 11, 2019, when the Israeli probe failed to achieve a soft lunar touchdown after its landing sequence.
Landing on the Moon remains a formidable challenge. The Israeli SpaceIL lander encountered difficulties during descent, with both the probe software and the ground infrastructure facing hurdles. Beresheet did not achieve a controlled landing, disintegrating at roughly 500 kilometers per hour north of Mare Serenitatis and scattering across the lunar surface. Reports indicate that millions of tardigrades were dispersed in the wake of the impact.
What are tardigrades?
Tardigrades, also called water bears, are tiny eight‑legged invertebrates smaller than a millimeter. They are widely studied for their extraordinary resilience and their potential to survive in extreme environments, including space conditions. Some researchers speculate these tiny travelers could endure lunar environmental stressors on a long‑distance journey.
Temperatures between 150°C and -270°C
Inside Beresheet, a capsule carried digital files, including religious and cultural artifacts, student drawings, a national anthem, and a flag, along with books, photographs, songs, and tardigrades. Some tardigrades can survive extreme dehydration and enter a form of suspended animation, which led to speculation about their fate in the harsh conditions of space. The lingering question remains whether any tardigrades would endure on the lunar surface as Beresheet II explores a different landing site than the one planned in 2019.
“The chances of tardigrade survival are considered promising by some observers,” noted investor Nova Spivack in discussions around the project.
Spanish scientist Alejandra Traspas has drawn attention from international journals for her work on tardigrade biology. Her studies highlight the remarkable resilience of these organisms, often described as among the most indestructible creatures on Earth.
A tiny creature with eight legs
Tardigrades are tiny invertebrates, measuring about half a millimeter in length and equipped with eight legs. They inhabit both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, earning the nickname water bears. They can endure long periods without food or water and can reanimate after extreme desiccation under the right conditions.
Tardigrades have been observed thriving in deep-sea hydrothermal vents, the cold of Antarctica, and even the vacuum of space. They have shown surprising resistance to radiation, though space conditions and meteorite impacts pose extreme challenges for survival in any off-Earth environment. The likelihood of surviving a lunar impact is uncertain and depends on many factors including the angle of impact and surrounding conditions, according to researchers evaluating these experiments.
Researchers recognize that survival probabilities in space are complex but not impossible, with ongoing inquiries into how impact dynamics and environmental stressors influence tiny life forms on the Moon, as Traspas explains.