Potential Life On The Moon

Day 590, 23:09 • Published in USA USA • by Vincent Truglia

By, Dissociated Press Staff Writer Chris Stanwick

Forty years ago, the astronauts of Apollo 11 became the first humans to land on the Moon. Little known is the fact that while there, they conducted several experiments for NASA to test the viability of living in space. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin carried a small glass receptacle containing ten live cockroaches to the Moon with them. Long considered the hardiest living creature on Earth for its ability to survive almost anything, NASA scientists created an experiment to test whether cockroaches could survive in the Moon's weaker atmosphere. Aldrin released the cockroaches onto the Moon's surface shortly after the lunar team filmed their famous footage.

Surprisingly, the two astronauts observed that the lack of oxygen and low gravity did not seem to have an affect on the roaches. The two astronauts observed the roaches periodically during their twenty-one hours on the Moon's surface and were able to report upon landing back on Earth that the cockroaches were still living in the Moon's harsh environment when they left.

This experiment demonstrates the durability of cockroaches and the potential viability of sustaining life on the Moon's surface. While the exact lifespan of the roaches on the Moon is unknown, subsequent lunar missions revealed no signs of the roaches' remains. Without a known food source, NASA biologists believe that the cockroaches probably died within weeks, however, a minority scientific group hypothesizes that there could be microbes on the Moon's surface to provide nourishment for the roaches and that it is possible there are descendants of those original ten roaches living on the Moon to this day



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