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A group of scientists have developed a plan to save Earth’s species in a cryogenic biorepository on the Moon.
Intended to save species in the event of a disaster on Earth, the plan uses craters that are permanently in shadow and therefore cold enough to allow cryogenic preservation of biological material without using electricity or liquid nitrogen, according to research from a group led by Smithsonian scientists published last week.
The paper, published in the journal BioScience, builds on the successful cryopreservation of skin samples from a fish and describes a method for creating a biorepository that would safely preserve samples from other species.
“Initially, a lunar biorepository would target the most endangered species on Earth today, but our ultimate goal would be to cryopreserve most species on Earth,” said Mary Hagedorn, a research cryobiologist at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (NZCBI) and lead author of the paper.
“We hope that by sharing our vision, our group can find additional partners to expand the conversation, discuss threats and opportunities, and conduct the research and testing needed to make this biobank a reality.”
The idea for the lunar biorepository is inspired by the Global Seed Vault in Svalbard, in the Norwegian Arctic, which stores more than a million varieties of seeds in an effort to preserve crop diversity.
The vault was threatened by a meltwater flood from thawing permafrost in 2017, highlighting the dangers posed by climate change, the statement said.
Although plant cells can be stored in arctic conditions, animal cells must be kept even colder, at least -320 degrees Fahrenheit or -196 degrees Celsius, to be preserved.
To achieve the required temperatures on Earth requires a supply of liquid nitrogen, electricity and human personnel.
But in the event of a global catastrophe, the supply of any of these three elements could be vulnerable, putting the envisioned biorepository at risk.
To reduce this risk, Hagedorn and his team thought about how cryopreservation could be done passively, which is impossible on Earth, and landed on the Moon.
The lunar polar regions contain craters that are permanently shadowed due to their orientation and depth, and can reach temperatures as low as -410 degrees Fahrenheit (-246 degrees Celsius).
The team then considered how to block radiation that would damage the DNA in the samples and proposed storing them underground or inside a structure with walls made of moon rocks. Further research is needed to study the effects of radiation exposure on cryopreserved samples, as well as the effects of microgravity, the statement said.
“We’re not saying what happens if the Earth fails – if the Earth is biologically destroyed, this biorepository will be irrelevant,” Hagedorn said in the statement.
“This project aims to help offset natural disasters and potentially increase space travel. Life is precious and, as far as we know, rare in the universe. This bioreserve offers another parallel approach to preserving Earth’s precious biodiversity,” she said.
Rob Brooker, director of ecological sciences at the James Hutton Institute in Scotland, who was not involved in the research, said the paper “is an interesting and provocative paper that highlights the loss of Earth’s biodiversity and the critical need to increase our efforts to conserve nature.”
“However, one of the main concerns is that the cost and effort required to establish such a resource on the Moon would be very substantial and would undermine ongoing conservation efforts, including meeting existing international commitments and plans to protect nature,” Brooker told CNN.
Sally Keith, a lecturer in marine biology at Lancaster University, who was not involved in the research, had similar concerns.
“This holistic approach provides an interesting thought experiment and could lead to innovative technological development. However, I struggle to see its use in the urgent fight to minimize rapid biodiversity loss,” she told CNN, adding: “How many forests, coral reefs and freshwater lakes could be better preserved right now, for the cost of launching a rocket to the moon?”
