{"id":57775,"date":"2019-08-07T12:12:55","date_gmt":"2019-08-07T19:12:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/?p=57775"},"modified":"2019-08-07T12:12:55","modified_gmt":"2019-08-07T19:12:55","slug":"crashed-spacecraft-may-have-left-creatures-on-the-moon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/2019\/08\/crashed-spacecraft-may-have-left-creatures-on-the-moon","title":{"rendered":"Crashed spacecraft may have left creatures on the moon"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"metadata \">\n<div class=\"metadata__info js-byline-images\" data-bundle=\"byline\">\n<p class=\"metadata__byline\"><span class=\"metadata__byline__author\">By Amy Woodyatt, CNN\u2014<\/span>Wed August 7, 2019<span id=\"js-pagetop_video_source\" class=\"video__source top_source\"><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"m-share m-share__rail-top js-share-rail-top  m-share__floating\">\n<div class=\"js-gigya-sharebar gigya-sharebar\" data-title=\"Crashed spacecraft may have left tiny but tough creatures on the moon\" data-subtitle=\"\" data-description=\"You've heard of men on the moon -- but what about moss piglets?\" data-link=\"https:\/\/cnn.it\/2yVz3FP\" data-isshorturl=\"true\" data-twitter-account=\"CNN\" data-image-src=\"\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/190807144613-02-tardigrade-stock-super-tease.jpg\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"pg-rail-tall__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"pg-side-of-rail pg-rail-tall__side\">\n<div class=\"pg-rail-tall__head js-pg-rail-tall__head\">\n<section id=\"large-media\" class=\"zn zn-large-media zn-body zn--idx-0 zn--ordinary zn-has-one-container\" data-eq-pts=\"xsmall: 0, medium: 460, large: 780, full16x9: 1100\" data-vr-zone=\"zone-0-0\" data-zone-label=\"headerMedia\" data-containers=\"1\" data-zn-id=\"large-media\" data-eq-state=\"xsmall medium large\">\n<div class=\"l-container\">\n<div class=\"img__preloader\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"media__caption el__gallery_image-title\">\n<div class=\"element-raw appearance-standard\">Thousands of tardigrades\u2014also known as \u2018water bears\u2019 or \u2018moss piglets\u2019\u2014were on board the Beresheet spacecraft when it crash landed on the moon in April.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"pg-rail-tall__body\">\n<section id=\"body-text\" class=\"zn zn-body-text zn-body zn--idx-0 zn--ordinary zn-has-multiple-containers zn-has-23-containers\" data-eq-pts=\"xsmall: 0, medium: 460, large: 780, full16x9: 1100\" data-vr-zone=\"zone-1-0\" data-zone-label=\"bodyText\" data-containers=\"23\" data-zn-id=\"body-text\" data-eq-state=\"xsmall medium large\">\n<div class=\"l-container\">\n<div class=\"el__leafmedia el__leafmedia--sourced-paragraph\">\n<p class=\"zn-body__paragraph speakable\"><cite class=\"el-editorial-source\">(CNN)<\/cite>You\u2019ve heard of men on the moon \u2014 but what about moss piglets?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"zn-body__paragraph speakable\">Thousands of <a href=\"https:\/\/cnn.com\/2017\/07\/27\/health\/tardigrade-water-bear-survival-study\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">tardigrades<\/a> \u2013 also known as \u201cwater bears\u201d or \u201cmoss piglets\u201d \u2014 were on board the <a href=\"https:\/\/cnn.com\/2019\/04\/12\/middleeast\/israel-moon-spacecraft-beresheet\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Beresheet spacecraft<\/a> when it crash landed on the moon in April.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"zn-body__paragraph speakable\">The tiny creatures are incredibly hardy and can survive extremely low temperatures and harsh conditions\u2013 and The Arch Mission Foundation, which sent them into <a href=\"https:\/\/cnn.com\/2019\/08\/05\/health\/deep-space-brain-radiation-study-scn\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">space<\/a>, believes some may have survived.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"zn-body__paragraph\">Tardigrades are pudgy little animals no longer than one millimeter. They live in water or in the film of water on plants like lichen or moss, and can be found all over the world in some of the most extreme environments, from icy mountains and polar regions to the balmy equator and the depths of the sea.<\/div>\n<div class=\"ad ad--epic ad--tablet\" data-ad-text=\"show\">\n<div data-ad-id=\"ad_nat_btf_01\" data-ad-position=\"tablet\" data-ad-refresh=\"default\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ad ad--epic ad--desktop\" data-ad-text=\"show\">\n<div data-ad-id=\"ad_nat_btf_01\" data-ad-position=\"desktop\" data-ad-refresh=\"default\">\n<div id=\"ad_nat_btf_01\" class=\"ad-ad_nat_btf_01 ad-refresh-default\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"el__embedded el__embedded--fullwidth\">\n<div class=\"el__image--fullwidth js__image--fullwidth\">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"media__image media__image--responsive\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/190807144622-01-tardigrade-stock-exlarge-169.jpg\" alt=\"Tardigrades live all over the world in some of the most extreme environments. \" data-src-mini=\"\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/190807144622-01-tardigrade-stock-small-169.jpg\" data-src-xsmall=\"\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/190807144622-01-tardigrade-stock-medium-plus-169.jpg\" data-src-small=\"\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/190807144622-01-tardigrade-stock-large-169.jpg\" data-src-medium=\"\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/190807144622-01-tardigrade-stock-exlarge-169.jpg\" data-src-large=\"\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/190807144622-01-tardigrade-stock-super-169.jpg\" data-demand-load=\"loaded\" data-eq-pts=\"mini: 0,  xsmall: 221,  small: 308,  medium: 461,  large:  781\" data-eq-state=\"mini xsmall small medium\" data-src=\"\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/190807144622-01-tardigrade-stock-exlarge-169.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"img__preloader\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"media__caption el__gallery_image-title\">\n<div class=\"element-raw appearance-fullwidth\">Tardigrades live all over the world in some of the most extreme environments.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"zn-body__paragraph\">In an attempt to create a \u201cNoah\u2019s ark\u201d or a \u201cback-up\u201d for the Earth, non-profit organization The Arch Mission sent a lunar library \u2014 a stack of DVD-sized disks that acts as an archive of 30 million pages of information about the planet \u2014 to the moon. Along with the library, Arch Mission sent human DNA samples and a payload of tardigrades, which had been dehydrated, into space.<\/div>\n<div class=\"zn-body__read-all\">\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"zn-body__paragraph\">\u201cWe chose them because they are special. They are the toughest form of life we know of. They can survive practically any planetary cataclysm. They can survive in the vacuum of space, they can survive radiation,\u201d Nova Spivack, co-founder of the Arch Mission Foundation, told CNN.<\/div>\n<div class=\"el__embedded el__embedded--standard\">\n<div class=\"el__storyelement--standard el__article--embed\">\n<div class=\"el__article--teaseimage\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2019\/07\/31\/tech\/bill-nye-light-sail-2-solar-spacecraft-scn\/index.html\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"media__image media__image--responsive\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/190731115904-01-lightsail-2-medium-plus-169.jpg\" alt=\"Bill Nye&#039;s experimental spacecraft that sails on sunlight declares mission success \" data-src-mini=\"\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/190731115904-01-lightsail-2-small-169.jpg\" data-src-xsmall=\"\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/190731115904-01-lightsail-2-medium-plus-169.jpg\" data-src-small=\"\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/190731115904-01-lightsail-2-large-169.jpg\" data-src-medium=\"\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/190731115904-01-lightsail-2-exlarge-169.jpg\" data-src-large=\"\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/190731115904-01-lightsail-2-super-169.jpg\" data-demand-load=\"loaded\" data-eq-pts=\"mini: 0,  xsmall: 221,  small: 308,  medium: 461,  large:  781\" data-eq-state=\"mini xsmall\" data-src=\"\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/190731115904-01-lightsail-2-medium-plus-169.jpg\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"img__preloader\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"media__caption el__storyelement__title\"><span class=\"el__storyelement__header\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2019\/07\/31\/tech\/bill-nye-light-sail-2-solar-spacecraft-scn\/index.html\">Bill Nye\u2019s experimental spacecraft that sails on sunlight declares mission success<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"zn-body__paragraph\">Tardigrades have eight legs with claws at the end, a brain and central nervous system, and a sucker-like pharynx behind their mouth, which can pierce food.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"zn-body__paragraph\">The Arch Mission put the creatures into a state of \u201csuspended animation,\u201d where the body dries out and the metabolism slows to as little as 0.01% of its normal rate.<\/div>\n<div class=\"el__embedded el__embedded--fullwidth\">\n<div class=\"el__image--fullwidth js__image--fullwidth\">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"media__image media__image--responsive\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/190807165908-lunar-library-exlarge-169.jpg\" alt=\"The Arch Mission also sent a 30 million-page library along for the ride.\" data-src-mini=\"\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/190807165908-lunar-library-small-169.jpg\" data-src-xsmall=\"\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/190807165908-lunar-library-medium-plus-169.jpg\" data-src-small=\"\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/190807165908-lunar-library-large-169.jpg\" data-src-medium=\"\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/190807165908-lunar-library-exlarge-169.jpg\" data-src-large=\"\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/190807165908-lunar-library-super-169.jpg\" data-demand-load=\"loaded\" data-eq-pts=\"mini: 0,  xsmall: 221,  small: 308,  medium: 461,  large:  781\" data-eq-state=\"mini xsmall small medium\" data-src=\"\/\/cdn.cnn.com\/cnnnext\/dam\/assets\/190807165908-lunar-library-exlarge-169.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"img__preloader\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"media__caption el__gallery_image-title\">\n<div class=\"element-raw appearance-fullwidth\">The Arch Mission also sent a 30 million-page library along for the ride.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"zn-body__paragraph\">\u201cIn that state you can later rehydrate them in a laboratory and they will wake up and be alive again,\u201d Spivack explained.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"zn-body__paragraph\">Although the animals won\u2019t be able to reproduce or move around in their dehydrated state \u2014 if they have survived the crash \u2014 if rehydrated they could come back to life years later.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"zn-body__paragraph\">\u201cWe don\u2019t often get a chance to land life on the moon that we decided to seize the day and send some along for the ride,\u201d Spivack added.<\/div>\n<div class=\"zn-body__paragraph\">Researchers hope that along with the tardigrades, the majority of the information from the lunar library survived the impact of the crash \u2014 and could be used to regenerate human life in millions of years.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"zn-body__paragraph\">\u201cBest-case scenario is that the little library is fully intact, sitting on a nice sandy hillside on the moon for a billion years. In the distant future it might be recovered by our descendants or by a future form of intelligent life that might evolve long after we\u2019re gone,\u201d Spivack said.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"zn-body__paragraph\">\u201cFrom the DNA and the cells that we included, you could clone us and regenerate the human race and other plants and animals,\u201d he added.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<hr \/>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Source: <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2019\/08\/07\/world\/water-bear-space-intl-scli-scn\/index.html\">https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2019\/08\/07\/world\/water-bear-space-intl-scli-scn\/index.html<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Amy Woodyatt, CNN\u2014Wed August 7, 2019 Thousands of tardigrades\u2014also known as \u2018water bears\u2019 or \u2018moss piglets\u2019\u2014were on board the Beresheet spacecraft when it crash landed on the moon in April. (CNN)You\u2019ve heard of men on the moon \u2014 but what about moss piglets? Thousands of tardigrades \u2013 also known as \u201cwater bears\u201d or \u201cmoss [\u2026]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":353,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1545,3,224,8,1514],"tags":[3482,3477,3478,352,3481,3483,2128,3479,3480],"class_list":["post-57775","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-astronomy","category-biological","category-science","category-space","category-space-travel","tag-arch-mission","tag-beresheet","tag-crash-landing","tag-moon","tag-moss-piglets","tag-nova-spivack","tag-space","tag-tardigrades","tag-water-bears"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57775","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/353"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57775"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57775\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":94533,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57775\/revisions\/94533"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57775"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57775"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeboat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57775"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}