Desert moss Syntrichia caninervis survives Mars-like extremes, offers terraforming hope

Key facts

• The desert moss Syntrichia caninervis can lose over 98 per cent of its cellular water and resume full photosynthetic activity within two seconds of rehydration.
• Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) researchers subjected the moss to Mars simulation conditions—95 per cent carbon dioxide atmosphere, very low pressure and high ultraviolet radiation—for seven days, after which it regenerated new green branches.
• The moss endured -196 degrees Celsius in liquid nitrogen and 5,000 Gy of radiation for 30 days, outperforming tardigrades and repairing its own DNA.
• CAS classifies Syntrichia caninervis as ‘extremotolerant’ and proposes it as a pioneer species to create fertile soil on Mars by mixing decayed moss organic matter with Martian regolith for future crop cultivation.