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Design of the space exposure unit and assemblage of samples for the space exposure experiment (A) The space exposure unit with a UV-blocking filter installed. A UV-blocking filter, which only allows light above 400 nm to pass, was added below the MgF2 window. A double-layered sample holder was installed, designed so that the samples placed in the lower section would not be exposed to light. (B) The space exposure unit without a UV-blocking filter installed.(C) Design of sample holder (unit: mm). (D) Top: a schematic showing a single well (5.5 mm in diameter) with samples (sporophytes) installed. Brown: sporophytes, blue: ES of cyanobacteria as adhesive, black: aluminum foil, gray: sample holder. Bottom: the actual appearance of the sporophytes installed in the sample holder. (E) Impact assessment of ES. After treating both ES-primed sporophytes and control sporophytes with dark conditions or 2 MJ/m2 of UVC (254 nm), the germination rate was observed. Different letters indicate statistically significant differences as determined by ANOVA with Tukey’s HSD post hoc test. The numbers inside the bar graphs represent the sample sizes. Error bar: SD. (F) The completed space exposure unit. -- iScience via PubMed

Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Microgravity, Plant Biology, Sample Return, Space Agriculture, Space Life Science, Space Stations, Status Report, Terraforming & Geoengineering

Extreme Environmental Tolerance And Space Survivability Of The Moss, Physcomitrium patens

by Keith CowingJanuary 8, 2026January 8, 2026

Climate change highlights the importance of understanding life’s survival limits for addressing global challenges and supporting future human habitation beyond Earth. Plants, as photosynthetic organisms, play a vital role in […]

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Extreme Environmental Tolerance And Space Survivability Of The Moss, Physcomitrium patens

Rethinking The Origin Of Life At Seafloor Hydrothermal Vents

Proto-Biosignatures and Planetary Geochemical Metabolism: A Thermodynamic Screening Model of Prebiotic Geochemical Organization

Cultivation Of Halophilic Archaea In Shallow Subsurface Martian Conditions Has Implications For Extant Life On Mars

Roman Space Telescope Leaves Earth

Atmospheric Retrieval of Combined JWST, HST, and Ground-Based Observations Reveals a Featureless Transmission Spectrum for GJ 1132 b