Nov. 21 (UPI) -- Spores of moss survived nearly a year outside of the International Space Station and has returned back to Earth alive.
The moss survived for the nine month period and returned with more than 80% of its spores able to reproduce once back on Earth, researchers reported in a study published in iScience.
"Most living organisms, including humans, cannot survive even briefly in the vacuum of space," lead study author Tomomichi Fujita told NBC News.
Fujita, professor of plant biology at Hokkaido University in Japan, said the experiment provides "striking evidence" that from Earth, at least on the cellular level, can survive the harsh conditions of space.
Past scientific experiments focused on larger living organisms like plant crops and other bacteria.
