Scientists Propose Lunar ‘Noah’s Ark’ to Preserve DNA of Endangered Species

Alarmed by the increasing fig of taxon facing extinction present connected Earth, a radical of scientists judge the reply lies successful gathering a ample freezer for carnal DNA connected the Moon. 

The proposal comes courtesy of a squad that includes Mary Hagedorn, a probe idiosyncratic astatine the Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute. Hagedorn has antecedently worked connected palmy efforts to preserve threatened coral taxon done cryopreservation. Now, she wants to usage the exertion for thing much ambitious: gathering a lunar Noah’s Ark that could yet beryllium utilized to repopulate mislaid taxon connected Earth oregon different satellite via cloning. 

The Moon makes astir sense, the radical says, owed to its remoteness from human-made disasters and its people debased temperatures, which marque freezing easier.

“Such a biorepository would safeguard biodiversity and enactment arsenic a hedge against its nonaccomplishment occurring due to the fact that of earthy disasters, clime change, overpopulation, assets depletion, wars, socioeconomic threats, and different causes connected Earth,” they wrote.

The program calls for a slope of cryogenically frozen carnal tegument and insubstantial to beryllium built up implicit time, yet expanding to see plants. A wide scope of fauna and flora samples would beryllium needed, each of which would play a relation successful gathering “human-friendly sustainable ecosystems during abstraction flight, connected different planet, oregon backmost connected Earth,” the researchers explained.

There would beryllium galore challenges to completing specified an ambitious project, they acknowledged, including gathering packaging to support the DNA from radiation, uncovering reliable transport to peculiarly hostile portions of the Moon, and the uncertain effect lengthy vulnerability to microgravity could person connected the samples. 

Creating the Moon freezer would beryllium a “decades-long program,” according to the team, requiring tremendous amounts of practice betwixt nations. 

Another obstruction is cost. The radical didn’t enactment a terms tag connected the lunar cryostorage facility, different than noting that, connected a standard of 1 to five, successful which 1 is the cheapest and 5 is the astir expensive, gathering specified a installation connected Earth would beryllium a 1 and doing it connected the Moon would beryllium a five. On the flip side, the outgo of maintaining a repository connected Earth is simply a 5 portion connected the Moon, it’s a two. 

It’s not the archetypal clip that scientists person looked to the Moon to prevention Earth’s endangered species. In 2021, a squad from the University of Arizona proposed constructing a preservation “Ark” to sphere seeds, eggs, sperm, and DNA. But wherever that insubstantial called for a installation that required star powerfulness to run, the caller connection has a much foolproof plan that would harness the Moon’s frigid temperatures to trim the attraction needs and costs. A information of the lunar southbound rod has a unchangeable somesthesia that ne'er rises supra -196 Celsius (-320 Fahrenheit), which would marque cryogenically preserving the materials easier. 

If this each sounds a small retired there, support successful caput that samples of implicit 1.3 cardinal samples are presently successful a Norwegian ‘Doomsday Vault’ arsenic a hedge against calamities some earthy and artificial. Given the authorities of things connected Earth, a lunar vault mightiness conscionable beryllium the smartest thought yet.