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Submission title is misleading (and not the article title). Fungi did not survive in space outside the ISS, but in a pressurized environment designed to be simi

by jupp0r 3y ago

Submission title is misleading (and not the article title). Fungi did not survive in space outside the ISS, but in a pressurized environment designed to be similar to the surface of Mars.

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
throwaway8877 3y ago
I wonder then how possible it is that some of the spores got settled in Mars and we have already contaminated Mars with Earth fungi.
- jupp0r 3y ago
  The equipment that has been sent to Mars has been sterilized in cleanroom conditions. Interplanetary contamination is something that space agencies take super seriously.
- fluoridation 3y ago
  Fungi have metabolisms similar to those of animals. They eat dead biomass, breathe oxygen, and drink water. Mars is a dead planet with a CO2-rich atmosphere and no liquid water. Even if a spore got transported there, it would not be able to germinate.
  - anonymouskimmer 3y ago
    Mars does indeed have liquid water, and a chance at more of it: https://english.elpais.com/science-tech/2024-01-18/massive-deposits-of-water-ice-discovered-on-the-equator-of-mars.html https://english.elpais.com/science-tech/2024-01-18/massive-d... : In 2018, Mars Express located a large lake of liquid water under the Martian polar ice. https://web.archive.org/web/20210902121223/https://earthsky.org/space/mars-ice-is-dusty-and-could-melt-study-says/ https://web.archive.org/web/20210902121223/https://earthsky.... : There is a chance that this dusty and dark ice might melt a few centimeters down. And any subsurface liquid water produced from melting will be protected from evaporating in Mars’ wispy atmosphere by the overlying blanket of ice. Is it likely that Fungi would end up in the right places on Mars, and even then grow in these conditions? Probably not. But worth investigating given what is known of psychrophilic fungi. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11157-016-9395-9 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11157-016-9395-9 : Fungi are able to grow and survive at low temperature and exist widely in polar and non-polar habitats. These cold regions are known for very low temperature, high ultra violet-B radiation, frequent freeze and thaw cycles and low water and nutrient availability.
    - fluoridation 3y ago
      Given what is known of fungi in general, there's no need to investigate it. Fungi and animals can't thrive in extremely low oxygen concentrations. Some species are especially hardy and are able to survive extreme conditions, but none are able to sustain their biological processes without oxygen.
      - anonymouskimmer 3y ago
        Anaerobic fungi exist. If they exist in the gut they're capable of existing elsewhere. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33193229/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33193229/ The main user of oxygen is the mitochondria, and even some non-anaerobic fungi can survive fine after losing their mitochondria.
quatrefoil 3y ago
I'm a bit perplexed about experiments like that. I get it why we did a lot of this in the early years of the Space Age to validate our assumptions about the hazards of outer space. Then, there was some scientific curiosity about how certain life forms, such as complex plants or insects, might adopt to near-zero gravity. This was a bit harder to justify in practical terms, but interesting and hard to replicate by other means. But what's the objective with this test? We can easily recreate similar conditions (pressure, temperature, illumination) here on Earth. So what have we learned to justify the cost? I'm not trolling, it's a sincere question.
- BurningFrog 3y ago
  The one thing we can't replicate on Earth is low gravity.
  - quatrefoil 3y ago
    Sure, but there's no reason to suspect that low gravity does anything interesting to fungi, of all things; and there's ample evidence that it doesn't from previous experiments, intentional and not. Other comments cite instances of the crews dealing with mold on the ISS.
    - deleted 3y ago
      [deleted]

by jupp0r 3y ago

Submission title is misleading (and not the article title). Fungi did not survive in space outside the ISS, but in a pressurized environment designed to be similar to the surface of Mars.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

throwaway8877 3y ago

I wonder then how possible it is that some of the spores got settled in Mars and we have already contaminated Mars with Earth fungi.

jupp0r 3y ago
The equipment that has been sent to Mars has been sterilized in cleanroom conditions. Interplanetary contamination is something that space agencies take super seriously.
fluoridation 3y ago
Fungi have metabolisms similar to those of animals. They eat dead biomass, breathe oxygen, and drink water. Mars is a dead planet with a CO2-rich atmosphere and no liquid water. Even if a spore got transported there, it would not be able to germinate.
- anonymouskimmer 3y ago
  Mars does indeed have liquid water, and a chance at more of it: https://english.elpais.com/science-tech/2024-01-18/massive-deposits-of-water-ice-discovered-on-the-equator-of-mars.html https://english.elpais.com/science-tech/2024-01-18/massive-d... : In 2018, Mars Express located a large lake of liquid water under the Martian polar ice. https://web.archive.org/web/20210902121223/https://earthsky.org/space/mars-ice-is-dusty-and-could-melt-study-says/ https://web.archive.org/web/20210902121223/https://earthsky.... : There is a chance that this dusty and dark ice might melt a few centimeters down. And any subsurface liquid water produced from melting will be protected from evaporating in Mars’ wispy atmosphere by the overlying blanket of ice. Is it likely that Fungi would end up in the right places on Mars, and even then grow in these conditions? Probably not. But worth investigating given what is known of psychrophilic fungi. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11157-016-9395-9 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11157-016-9395-9 : Fungi are able to grow and survive at low temperature and exist widely in polar and non-polar habitats. These cold regions are known for very low temperature, high ultra violet-B radiation, frequent freeze and thaw cycles and low water and nutrient availability.
  - fluoridation 3y ago
    Given what is known of fungi in general, there's no need to investigate it. Fungi and animals can't thrive in extremely low oxygen concentrations. Some species are especially hardy and are able to survive extreme conditions, but none are able to sustain their biological processes without oxygen.
    - anonymouskimmer 3y ago
      Anaerobic fungi exist. If they exist in the gut they're capable of existing elsewhere. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33193229/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33193229/ The main user of oxygen is the mitochondria, and even some non-anaerobic fungi can survive fine after losing their mitochondria.

quatrefoil 3y ago

I'm a bit perplexed about experiments like that. I get it why we did a lot of this in the early years of the Space Age to validate our assumptions about the hazards of outer space. Then, there was some scientific curiosity about how certain life forms, such as complex plants or insects, might adopt to near-zero gravity. This was a bit harder to justify in practical terms, but interesting and hard to replicate by other means. But what's the objective with this test? We can easily recreate similar conditions (pressure, temperature, illumination) here on Earth. So what have we learned to justify the cost? I'm not trolling, it's a sincere question.

BurningFrog 3y ago
The one thing we can't replicate on Earth is low gravity.
- quatrefoil 3y ago
  Sure, but there's no reason to suspect that low gravity does anything interesting to fungi, of all things; and there's ample evidence that it doesn't from previous experiments, intentional and not. Other comments cite instances of the crews dealing with mold on the ISS.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]