NASA study finds Earth microbes could survive on Moon's South Pole, complicating Artemis missions

As humanity prepares to plant its first permanent foothold on the moon's South Pole, NASA researchers have found that the very conditions making that region so scientifically valuable — perpetual cold, deep shadow, shelter from radiation — may also allow Earth's microorganisms to survive there. Published in Science Advances, the study identifies 'survivable niches' where bacteria carried on astronaut suits and equipment could persist for at least a full day, raising a question as old as exploration itself: how do we seek the unknown without carrying ourselves into the answer? The discovery doe