Moss spores have reproduced after nine months on the International Space Station (ISS), an announcement that sounds more impressive when you learn they were on the outside, exposed directly to the perils of space. Although single-celled organisms have demonstrated the same capacity previously, this is the first time a land plant has shown such powers of survival. The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.

If humanity is to go beyond our birth planet, we’re going to want to take a lot of lifeforms with us. Yet space is hazardous for species that evolved under the comforting protection of an atmosphere. On our journeys, we may cocoon our companions in the same metal walls we keep ourselves inside, but those hoping for new homes on M

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