Scientists Offer Serious Warning About Water Bears On The Moon

Scientists including NASA officials expressed their concerns regarding the presence of tardigrades on the Moon. According to them, contaminating the Moon with water bears could have serious consequences.

Earlier this year, a lunar lander launched by Israel’s SpaceIL organization accidentally crashed on the Moon. The lander, named Beresheet, was unmanned and carried various payloads including thousands of tardigrades, which are the eight-legged microscopic organisms that became known as water bears.

The tiny animals were included in the mission in order to test their biological qualities since they are known to survive long periods without food and water. Unfortunately, as the spacecraft approached the Moon, its engine died, which then led to an uncontrolled descent to the surface.

Following the crash of the Beresheet, experts said that there’s a huge chance that the water bears survived and are currently thriving on the Moon.

After the incident, the lunar tardigrades attracted widespread public attention due to their current predicament. However, for scientific experts, the uncontrolled presence of the water bears on the Moon should not be celebrated.

“Uncontrolled biological contamination of the Moon’s surface is not scientifically ideal,” Lisa Pratt, the new director of NASA’s Office of Planetary Protection said in a statement according to Newsweek.

Astrobiologist Monica Vidaurri, who works as a science consultant at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, explained via Twitter that the accidental deployment of tardigrades on the Moon clearly demonstrates the difference in how the private and public sectors operate in space.

“Tardigrades on the Moon is not good,” she stated. “It is not exciting. It is not cute. It is the result of a major gap in accountability for planetary protection and ethics between public and private science, and we have no idea what can happen as a result.”

Chris Britt, a scientist for the Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes supported Vidaurri’s statement and hinted at implementing stricter regulations for private space firms.

As pointed out by other scientists, it is not exactly clear how the tardigrades on the Moon will react to their new environment. Similarly, it is uncertain what their effect will be on the lunar surface.