There\u2019s something wrong with us. <\/p>\n
We\u2019ve risen to prominence on a world that\u2019s positively \u201crippling with life,\u201d as Carl Sagan described it. The more we study our planet, the more we find life eking out an existence in the most unlikely of places. <\/p>\n
Yet we seem destined to drive many species to extinction, even though we see those extinctions coming from miles away. <\/p>\n
As an indication of how serious the problem is, one group of researchers suggests we use the Moon\u2014yes, the Moon\u2014as a safe repository for Earth\u2019s biodiversity. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n The idea makes sense technically\u2014samples of Earth life can be preserved cryogenically on the Moon\u2014but it also sounds like something out of a Kurt Vonnegut novel. At first glance, it seems like an absurd proposal. However, as Camus explained, acknowledging absurdity is the starting point for genuine understanding. <\/p>\n Camus and Vonnegut are both dead, so it\u2019s up to living scientists to prepare for the odious task of preventing a catastrophic reduction in Earth\u2019s biodiversity. They\u2019re taking it seriously.<\/p>\n In a new paper in the journal BioScience, a diverse group of scientists from the USA outline their plan. The paper is \u201cSafeguarding Earth\u2019s biodiversity by creating a lunar biorepository.\u201d The first author is Mary Hagedorn, a Senior Research Cryobiologist at the Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute in Washington, DC.<\/p>\n \u201cEarth\u2019s biodiversity is increasingly threatened and at risk,\u201d the authors write, shocking no one. <\/p>\n Human activities are behind species extinction. \u201cBecause of myriad anthropogenic drivers, a high proportion of species and ecosystems face destabilization and extinction threats that are accelerating faster than our ability to save these species in their natural environment,\u201d the authors write. <\/p>\n Their proposal is to build a biorepository on the Moon that can hold \u201cprioritized taxa of live cryopreserved samples.\u201d Not only would the biorepository protect Earth\u2019s precious, wondrous biodiversity, but it would also serve space exploration and terraforming.<\/p>\n The researchers are in the initial stages of exploring the idea. They intend to test the cryopreservation of animal skin samples containing fibroblast cells. Fibroblasts are the main connective tissue cells in bodies, present in the skin, tendons, ligaments, blood vessels, and bones. <\/p>\n Fibroblasts are not stem cells, but they share some similarities with stem cells. They\u2019re the only other type of cell that can regenerate tissues and organs and create copies of themselves. Fibroblasts are also used in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. They\u2019re widely used in research and are sometimes called the \u201cworkhorses\u201d of cell culture. <\/p>\n Cryopreserved fibroblasts can stay frozen and alive for hundreds of years. Scientists are getting better at thawing cryopreserved materials to recover DNA and intact cells. They\u2019re even able to thaw living organisms. In this\u00a02018 research, coral larvae were cryopreserved, then warmed, and then resumed swimming<\/span>. This 2023 research showed similar success. These efforts were both aimed at preserving Earth\u2019s coral biodiversity. The scientific community is clearly concerned, and momentum is building. <\/p>\n \u201cIn the face of potential catastrophic ecosystem loss, such as coral reefs from climate-related warming, we propose the creation of a lunar biorepository to maintain samples in a cryopreserved state with little human intervention,\u201d the authors of the new research write. <\/p>\n There\u2019s nowhere on Earth with temperatures naturally low enough for cryopreservation. But the Moon is much different.<\/p>\n The authors point out that the Moon\u2019s southern polar region is nearly ideal for a \u201chands-off\u201d biorepository. In some craters there, the temperature is quite stable, with only small seasonal fluctuations. The temperature stays at or below -196 Celsius (-320 F), which is the temperature for liquid nitrogen and is considered the ideal temperature for cryopreservation. <\/p>\n The researchers envision a vault that could protect Earth\u2019s most at-risk species. In the future, other plant and animal species will be added. \u201cOur goal is to cryopreserve most animal species on Earth,\u201d they write. A parallel goal is to preserve Earth species that can be used in future terraforming. \u201cThe biorepository could store biomaterials for food, filtration, microbial breakdown, and ecosystems engineering,\u201d they explain. <\/p>\n There\u2019s precedent for this type of thinking and this type of initiative: The Doomsday Vault. <\/p>\n In 2008, the Norwegian government opened the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. It\u2019s a repository for seeds that protects crop diversity. It holds backup seeds preserved in other genebanks around the world. The vault has the capacity to store 4.5 million different seed samples, each holding up to 500 individual seeds. It is built into the side of a mountain on Spitsbergen Island in Norway\u2019s Svalbard Archipelago. It maintains an ideal seed-preserving temperature of -18\u00b0C (-0.4\u00b0F). At only 1300 km from the North Pole, the site is kept cold in permafrost even if climate control fails. <\/p>\n The Lunar Biorepository isn\u2019t the first proposal to protect Earth\u2019s biodiversity on the Moon. In 2021, researchers proposed the Lunar Ark, a facility in lunar lava tubes that could preserve the seeds, sperms, eggs, and DNA of endangered Earth life. But lunar lava tubes aren\u2019t naturally as cold as polar craters, and the idea relies on solar power for energy. That means it\u2019s susceptible to failure.<\/p>\n But at the naturally cold temperatures at the lunar pole, power failure isn\u2019t an issue. <\/p>\n Initially, the Lunar Biorepository would hold endangered animal taxa. After that, it would need to expand and include plants since they\u2019re critical to rebuilding ecosystems. <\/p>\n The researchers are starting by developing an exemplar system to extract and cryopreserve tissue from the Starry Goby, a fish native to Hawaii. Previous researchers have shown that the species responds well to cryopreservation. <\/p>\n \u201cOur vision is that these fibroblasts would be distributed into a variety of space-hardy cryopackaging and tested under space-like conditions on Earth. Candidate packaging for the cells would be tested next on the ISS,\u201d the researchers state. <\/p>\n The Lunar Repository could offer protection that goes beyond the scientific. By virtue of its remote lunar location, it\u2019s protected from Earthly climate disasters and natural disasters like Earthquakes. Human affairs can also be extremely messy and catastrophic, and in a deep crater at the lunar south pole, the repository would be isolated from political upheaval or war. <\/p>\n The authors recognize the many challenges involved, mostly technical. But the endeavour is a long-term one, so there\u2019s time to solve problems. <\/p>\n \u201cThis is a decades-long program,\u201d the authors write. \u201cRealizing 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.\u201d<\/p>\n But the Moon is attracting a lot of attention and effort, and this project can be an important part of it all.<\/p>\n \u201cProtecting Earth\u2019s life must be a top priority,\u201d they conclude. <\/p>\n![\"This](\"https:\/\/www.universetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/moon-shackleton-crater-center-e1340658817224.jpg\")
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