The moon’s environment, at the very least, can be described as being unsympathetic towards living organisms. It lacks water and oxygen; it is 250o F in the day’s sunshine and -250o F throughout the night. Radiation darts around. There is no atmosphere; therefore, there is no atmospheric pressure. In fact, fluids in an exposed human body will boil on the moon. For these reasons, it is not surprising that living organisms have never been found on the moon. And, it is these reasons that make it so incredible that an organism form Earth was able to survive unprotected on the moon for two and a half years.
On April 20, 1967, Surveyor 3 landed near Oceanus Procellarum on the moon’s surface. The unmanned lunar lander had a television camera on board, which was recovered by Apollo astronauts on November 20, 1969. Once returned to Earth, NASA scientists examined the camera and found living specimens of Streptococcus mitis.
There are no bacteria in samples taken from the moon; therefore, it was concluded that the bacteria was from Earth. Furthermore, due to precautions taken by the astronauts, it was concluded that the bacteria was inside the camera when it was retrieved and not contaminated afterwards. These two conclusions combined indicate that the organisms survived launch, two and a half years of radiation exposure, deep freeze, and no water or nutrient source.
Interestingly,Streptococcus mitis is not found living in one of Earth’s anaerobic harsh environments; it is common and harmless bacteria found in the nose, throat, and mouth in humans. Streptococcus mitis is coccus in shape and forms chains. It is Gram-positive, and contains a thick cell wall. It performs aerobic action on glucose. Also, and not surprisingly, it is resistant to penicillin and cetriaxone.
How this feat of survival was accomplished by Streptococcus mitis alone is not known with certainty, but it is a glimpse into the past when Earth as we know it today was evolutions away. Four billion years ago, when bacteria first appeared on the planet, oxygen was scarce and the ozone layer that shields the Earth from radiation was largely unformed. Hence, within the discovery of the genes that allowed Streptococcus mitis survive might lay a glimpse into the evolution of life on Earth today.
Resources:
http://science.nasa.gov/newhome/headlines/ast01sep98_1.htm
http://www.panspermia.org/bacteria.htm
http://www.angelfire.com/on2/daviddarling/Surveyor3.htm
*Disclaimer - This report was written by a student participaring in a microbiology course at the Missouri University of Science and Technology. The accuracy of the contents of this report is not guaranteed and it is recommended that you seek additional sources of information to verify the contents.
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