A black fungus that thrives in damp bathrooms and has been found aboard the ISS was the toughest organism in NASA’s new Moon-survival study — even outperforming a bacterium famous for being one of the most radiation-resistant lifeforms on Earth.

A NASA-led model found shaded lunar south-pole niches where Earth microbes could remain viable for days. Aspergillus niger led on ultraviolet tolerance, but survival did not mean growth. The post A black fungus that thrives in damp bathrooms and has been found aboard the ISS was the toughest organism in NASA’s new Moon-survival study — even outperforming a bacterium famous for being one of the…