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Originally Posted by skrap1r0n
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Or, much more likely there was no live Streptococcus mitis on Surveyor 3.
Wikipedia: Reports of Streptococcus mitis on the moon
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Streptococcus mitis lives in the mouth; there is no evidence that it can survive for long even in terrestrial environments outside the human body.
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One of the implements being used to scrape samples off the Surveyor parts was laid down on a non-sterile laboratory bench, and then was used to collect surface samples for culturing.
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On the above evidence, the most parsimonious explanation for the reported recovery of Streptococcus mitis from the Surveyor 3 camera is contamination after its recovery from the Moon. Survival of this bacterium on the surface of the Moon would be very unlikely. This claim has never been documented in any peer-reviewed scientific publication and remains a telling example of the phenomenon of urban myth.
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The lunar bacteria don't impress me, but I think we've found a legend that cannot be killed.