In an effort to save endangered species from potential catastrophic events on Earth, scientists have unveiled an ambitious plan to store their DNA on the moon. This lunar “Noah’s Ark” would serve as a backup for species preservation in the unlikely event of their extinction on Earth.
The concept involves building a biorepository on the moon to house frozen biological materials. Live tissue samples from various animal species would be stored in this facility, ensuring a safeguard against their potential extinction.
The north or south poles of the moon, where craters cast constant shadows and temperatures remain extremely cold at about -200 degrees Celsius, are considered ideal locations for this biorepository.
According to an article published in the Oxford Academic journal BioScience, scientists assert that having an additional base on the moon would complement the existing preservation efforts on Earth. NASA is also interested in these lunar poles because they contain ice, which could aid in establishing a human colony there.
Scientists at institutions such as Harvard and the Smithsonian are developing techniques to gather samples from threatened species on Earth, freeze them, and then transport them to the moon. The fish species known as the starry goby is set to be the first in this space storage initiative, with protocols currently being established.
Managing high radiation levels in orbit and ensuring the samples’ safety during spaceflight are significant challenges. Existing biorepositories, such as the one in Svalbard, Norway, are designed to withstand Earthly threats, but the moon’s extreme cold offers a stable climate that may not require a power source, making it an ideal location for this backup plan.
“Such a biorepository would safeguard biodiversity and act as a hedge against its loss due to natural disasters, climate change, overpopulation, resource depletion, wars, socioeconomic threats, and other causes on Earth,” the scientists write. “Our initial focus will be on cryopreserving animal skin samples with fibroblast cells.”
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