The journey from Earth to Mars is seriously long; it’s a six- to nine-month voyage across 140 million miles of space. For our most advanced space programs, which are only now targeting a return to the moon, a trip to Mars is a daunting challenge. A new study suggests that some particularly hardy fungi could survive this interplanetary voyage without much trouble.
Researchers, writing in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, explained that the asexual reproductive spores of the fungus Aspergillus calidoustus, found in facilities used to build, test, and launch spacecrafts, could withstand the intense environmental conditions present in space and on Mars. According to the authors, the study is the first to show that a eukaryotic microbe could survive all mission‑relevant stages from cleanroom to Mars‑like conditions.
Construction in Cleanrooms
NASA spacecraft are built in cleanrooms, where contaminants from Earth are sterilized by heat, radiation, and chemical processes. This process is meant to prevent any biological agents from our world from reaching space or other planets.
But even these rigorous procedures don’t kill every contaminant. Fungus reproduces using specialized spores called conidia. The researchers isolated conidia from 27 fungal strains found in decontaminated NASA cleanrooms.
The cleanrooms were used to construct the Perseverance rover, which has been roaming Mars since landing in 2021. The team also analyzed two other microbes — one fungal, one bacterial — that have previously been found on spacecraft and exhibit high radiation resistance.
Read More: Bacteria-Killing Viruses Turn into Better Antibiotic Fighters in Space
Fungus In A Mars-Like Environment
In the new study, researchers led by Kasthuri Venkateswaran, who previously worked at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in the Biotechnology and Planetary Protection Group, subjected these samples to harsh conditions that mimic the environments they might encounter if the fungus were to make it aboard an interplanetary mission.
Of all the cleanroom samples tested, A. calidoustus proved to be the most resilient.
“This does not mean contamination of Mars is likely, but it helps us better quantify potential microbial survival risks,” said Venkateswaran in a press release. “Microorganisms can possess extraordinary resilience to environmental stresses.”
These conditions included low temperatures and atmospheric pressures with intense ionizing and ultraviolet radiation. The team also exposed their samples to regolith, the dusty soil-like deposits that cover Mars’s surface. No single factor was lethal to the fungus.
Surviving the Surface of Mars
The fungus survived nearly 1500 minutes of Martian radiation, long-term neutron radiation exposure, and the cleaning techniques used to decontaminate spacecraft parts. While some of the other fungal spores analyzed could survive Martian radiation levels, only A. calidoustus, along with Aspergillus fumigatus, previously found on board the International Space Station, could withstand the pairing of the radiation and regolith. A combination of low temperatures and extreme radiation was the only thing able to kill A. calidoustus conidia.
The results suggest that A. calidoustus could survive and spread to other planets through space travel, making it a target for future study. The researchers highlighted that fungal spores are often overlooked next to bacterial spores in decontamination efforts.
“Together, these investigations help refine NASA’s planetary protection strategies and microbial risk assessment approaches for current and future space exploration missions,” Venkateswaran said.
Read More: The International Space Station May be Too Clean – But These Microbes Could Help
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