"it's possible that forms of microbial life could survive the treacherous conditions of the lunar south pole..." by Wyatt Reed via sputniknews Scientists are fairly confident that humans would be the most likely source of any microbial life discovered on the moon, but say a sufficiently powerful asteroid slamming into the Earth could have theoretically brought terrestrial life to extraterrestrial territory as well. Future visitors to the moon could be met by quite a surprise if they make it to the lunar south pole, as new research suggests organisms which might have made their way from Earth could potentially be living there. According to Prabal Saxena, a planetary researcher at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, it's possible that forms of microbial life could survive the treacherous conditions of the lunar south pole, where — paradoxically — the extreme cold and lack of oxygen could allow them to survive. "One of the most striking things our team has found is that, given recent