Can anything from Earth live on the Moon?
The environment of the Moon is almost a perfect vacuum. The temperatures range from highs of over 250 degrees Fahrenheit in sunlight to 250 degrees below zero at night. High energy particles, micrometeorites, and solar radiation strike the surface continuously. There is no source of liquid water or food. It seems to be one of the most inhospitable places imaginable. Yet surprisingly the answer to the question is yes, life from Earth can survive on the Moon, and for unexpectedly long periods of time.
We know this because of a couple of lunar missions that took place in the late 1960's. Surveyor 3 was launched on 17 April 1967. It was a small robotic spacecraft which landed on the Moon on 20 April and took pictures of the surface and dug trenches with a mechanical arm. The mission returned data for two weeks and was shut down at sunset. (A full day and night on the Moon is almost 30 Earth days.)
Surveyor 3 sat silently on the Moon for over a year and a half, exposed to the harsh lunar environment. On 14 November 1969, Apollo 12, the second astronaut mission to the Moon, was launched. Pete Conrad and Alan Bean landed on the Moon on 19 November, only about 600 yards from the Surveyor 3 spacecraft. As part of the mission some parts, including the camera, were removed from Surveyor 3 and brought back to Earth, to study the effects of long term exposure to lunar conditions.
Back on Earth the Surveyor 3 pieces were studied carefully. The camera was opened under sterile conditions and many samples were taken from inside. A small piece of foam removed from deep within the camera was put into a special broth, rich in nutrients, to allow the growth of any microorganisms that might have survived within the camera. By the fourth day a small amount of growth was observed hanging from the foam and by the next day white growths could be seen all over the foam and in the broth. The microorganisms were identified as a strain of Streptococcus mitis. Other parts of the camera closer to the outside did not show any signs of living material using this same process. Because the camera was not rigorously sterilized before launch, the scientists concluded that the S. mitis was inside the camera originally, and had managed to survive on the Moon despite the vacuum and temperature extremes for a year and a half. The bacteria probably dried out in the vacuum and went into a survival mode in which it could withstand the temperatures inside the camera which probably ranged from -250 F to 150 F over many cycles. When exposed to air and nutrients, the S. mitis was able, after a short time, to "come back to life" and begin growing again.
Notice, however, that the question used the phrase "live on the Moon". While these organisms were alive and surviving under these harsh conditions, they were certainly not thriving. They were in a state of suspended animation, they could not move, they couldn't grow, they couldn't reproduce. Eventually they would have died off in the exact spot they were without ever having a chance to migrate or establish new colonies. So if the question was "Can anything from Earth flourish on the Moon?", that is, could life actually establish itself and grow, the answer from everything we know about Earth biology would be "no".
Here are some websites on the missions:
This week's question is provided by Dr. David Williams. Dr. Williams is a planetary scientist working at the National Space Science Data Center at NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center. He is primarily in charge of archival of lunar and planetary data and images returned by spacecraft missions (http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/).