China says desert moss suited to Mars as it tests hi-tech tools for space and astronauts

3-MIN READ3-MIN0ListenPublished: 9:00pm, 29 Jun 2026China has hopes for a desert moss that it says could colonise Mars following a revival experiment inside a mini space laboratory that showed it was remarkably resilient, state broadcaster CCTV said on Monday.The plant, a highly drought-resistant species called Syntrichia caninervis, was revived after it was subjected to a series of extreme space conditions – including microgravity, intense radiation and severe dehydration – according to the report.Chinese scientists had previously established in simulated Martian environments that the moss was a promising pioneer species for colonising extraterrestrial worlds.03:00China launches Shenzhou-21 spacecraft with 4 mice aboard for 6-month experimentThe findings are expected to “provide theoretical backing” for its use in low-energy ecological improvement and the in-situ use of local resources for future off-Earth settlements.