China: Scientists Identify Super Moss Able to 'Survive' in Mars

A man walks outside traditional alleyways Hutong at Qianmen in Beijing, China, Sunday, July 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
A man walks outside traditional alleyways Hutong at Qianmen in Beijing, China, Sunday, July 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
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China: Scientists Identify Super Moss Able to 'Survive' in Mars

A man walks outside traditional alleyways Hutong at Qianmen in Beijing, China, Sunday, July 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
A man walks outside traditional alleyways Hutong at Qianmen in Beijing, China, Sunday, July 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

Scientists have identified a super resilient desert moss species in China's western region of Xinjiang that could help sustain possible colonies on Mars, a study by the Chinese Academy of Sciences showed.
When subjected to conditions that simulate the environment on Mars, the moss - Syntrichia Caninervis - was found to be able to withstand extreme dryness, ultra-low temperatures and radiation, the academy said in a research paper published in The Innovation journal last week.
The moss could serve as the "basis for the establishment and maintenance of the ecosystem by contributing to oxygen production, carbon sequestration, and soil fertility", the researched said in the study, published on July 1.
"(It) can help drive the atmospheric, geological, and ecological processes required for other higher plants and animals while facilitating the creation of new habitable environments conducive to long-term human settlement," the paper added.
In the research, scientists found that even after losing more than 98% of its cellular water content, the moss was able to recover photosynthetic and physiological activities within seconds after it was hydrated.
When intact, the plant can also tolerate ultra-low temperatures and regenerate after being stored in a freezer at minus 80 degree Celsius (minus 112 Fahrenheit) for five years or in liquid nitrogen for a month, Reuters reported.
The moss is found in Xinjiang, Tibet, a Californian desert, the Middle East and polar regions.
The race to place a larger footprint in space has spurred China and the United States to launch exploration plans in recent years.
Chinese missions include launching near-Earth asteroid probe Tianwen-2 next year, and Tianwen-3 around 2030 to bring samples back from Mars. China last month retrieved samples from the far side of the moon.
In the United States, NASA has formulated a 20-year plan for Mars, seeking answers to whether the red planet is habitable for humans.



Eel-eating Japan Opposes EU Call for More Protection

People on bicycles cross a street under the hot sun in Tokyo on June 20, 2025. (Photo by Kazuhiro NOGI / AFP)
People on bicycles cross a street under the hot sun in Tokyo on June 20, 2025. (Photo by Kazuhiro NOGI / AFP)
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Eel-eating Japan Opposes EU Call for More Protection

People on bicycles cross a street under the hot sun in Tokyo on June 20, 2025. (Photo by Kazuhiro NOGI / AFP)
People on bicycles cross a street under the hot sun in Tokyo on June 20, 2025. (Photo by Kazuhiro NOGI / AFP)

Japan's agriculture minister said Friday the country would oppose any call by the European Union to add eels to an endangered species list that would limit trade in them.

Eel is eaten worldwide but is particularly popular in Japan, where it is called "unagi" and traditionally served grilled after being covered in a sticky-sweet sauce.

Minister Shinjiro Koizumi told reporters that the country carefully manages stock levels of the Japanese eel in cooperation with neighboring China, Taiwan and South Korea.

"There is a sufficient population, and it faces no extinction risk due to international trade," AFP quoted him as saying.

Japanese media have reported that the EU could soon propose that all eel species be added to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) which limits trade of protected animals.

There are 19 species and subspecies of eel, many of them now threatened due to a range of factors including pollution and overfishing.

In 2014, the Japanese eel was listed as endangered, but not critically endangered, by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, which cited factors including habitat loss, overfishing, pollution and migration barriers.

Protecting the animal is complicated by their complex life cycle, which unfolds over a vast area, and the many unknowns about how they reproduce.