AN incredible plot to store the DNA of endangered species on the Moon in case of a cataclysmic disaster on Earth has been unveiled by scientists.
A storage solution of this nature is called a biorepository – and a similar one for the seeds of 1.3million plant varieties already exists on Earth.
However, no such things exists on the lunar surface – yet.
The ambitious plan, by scientists at Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (NZCBI) in Washington, DC, would be the first of its kind.
It comes at the right time, as Nasa plots its way back to the Moon to build permanent human habitation.
The plan for a lunar biorepository, published in BioScience, may also help us terraform other planets, such as Mars.
Scientists have already discovered that an Antarctic moss could be key to producing breathable air on the Red Planet.
But the future of Mars may include some of Earth’s most endangered creatures.
Animal cells, embryos, semen and tissue would be frozen to be preserved, in a process called cryogenic preservation.
“Initially, a lunar biorepository would target the most at-risk species on Earth today,” said lead author Mary Hagedorn, a cryobiologist at NZCBI.
“But our ultimate goal would be to cryopreserve most species on Earth.”
While it would be costly, roughly five times more expensive than a similar vault on Earth, a lunar biorepository would actually be cheaper to maintain.
This is because cold temperatures are necessary – and require more energy to achieve down on Earth than on the Moon where the climate is naturally more frigid.
In deep craters near the Moon’s poles, permanent shadows keep the lunar surface below -410°F (-246°C).
Animal cells require much lower storage temperatures for preservation, at around -320°F (-196°C).
Protecting Earth’s life must be a top priority in the rush on the Moon sites for industries and many types of science.
Scientists at Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (NZCBI)
At a distance of about 238,855 miles, the Moon is far enough away to be sheltered from any doomsday incident that might render Earth uninhabitable.
Hagedorn and her colleagues have cryopreserved skin samples from a reef fish called the starry goby – specifically from its fins – as part of the study.
The fins contain a type of skin cell called fibroblasts, which produce the structural framework for animal tissues and play a critical role in wound healing.
Next, the samples will undergo radiation exposure testing, to see how DNA samples react under similar conditions on the Moon.
This testing may take place on the International Space Station, but likely not any time soon.
The project is part of a “decades-long programme” to be able to bring the animal kingdom back from extinction.
It’s unclear how many species will be included in this feat.
As things stand today, there are about two million species threatened with extinction.
“Realising a lunar biorepository will require collaboration by a broad array of nations, cultural groups, agencies, and international stakeholders to develop acceptable sample holding, governance, and long-term plans,” scientists said in their study.
“Protecting Earth’s life must be a top priority in the rush on the Moon sites for industries and many types of science.”
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