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