Noah’s Ark on the Moon: Scientists Want to Create A Lunar Sanctuary for Endangered Species

American researchers propose storing cryopreserved DNA samples of Earth’s most endangered species to protect its biodiversity. The so-called Noah’s Ark on the Moon would help protect our civilisation from potential global disasters and support future space exploration and planetary terraforming.

Details Of An Ambitious Project

A team of researchers, including Mary Hagedorn, a researcher at the Smithsonian National Zoo and the Institute for Conservation Biology, proposed to creat ‘Noah’s Ark’ on the Moon. The paper was published in BioScience.

The scientists propose storing cryopreserved animal skin samples and fibroblast cells, a type of cell found in connective tissue throughout the body. They have begun testing samples of starry goby (Asterropteryx semipunctata) to see if the cryopreservation method will work.

Additional tests will be conducted on the ISS before lunar storage.

Cryopreservation is a process used to preserve cells, tissues or whole organisms by cooling them to very low temperatures. Biological activity, including biochemical reactions that would lead to cell death, is effectively stopped at such temperatures.

A Genetic Backup Of Civilisation

Creating genetic backups for biodiversity conservation is a concept that has been introduced previously. The Svalbard Global Seed Vault, located above the Arctic Circle in Norway, contains more than 1.3 million plant genetic samples worldwide and has already been used to reintroduce some plants back into the wild. However, this repository is still in danger of being destroyed by rising sea levels or an asteroid impact.

In 2016, water permafrost seeped into the Svalbard seed vault, demonstrating its vulnerability to the effects of climate change. Unfortunately, only some places on Earth will be completely safe.

Researchers suggest that the Moon is a perfect place to store these materials. Some regions near the poles have temperatures as low as -200°C and craters that create constant shade. Such conditions will lead to less energy consumption for sample preservation and less human intervention.

Will They Be Able To Realise The Project Soon?

Of course, this lunar ark is still a long way off. The researchers note there will be many challenges to completing such an ambitious project, including creating packaging to protect DNA from radiation, finding reliable transport, especially to the polar parts of the moon, and the uncertain effect that prolonged exposure to microgravity could have on the samples. According to the team, this will be a “decades-long programme” requiring massive cooperation between countries.

The team should have given an approximate price for a lunar cryopreserve, noting only that building such a facility on the Moon would be many times more expensive than a similar project on Earth. However, maintaining such a repository on the Moon would be noticeably cheaper than on Earth.

It’s Not A New Idea

It’s not the first time scientists have turned to the Moon to save Earth’s endangered species from natural and artificial apocalyptic scenarios.

In 2021, a team from the University of Arizona proposed hiding the cryogenic genetic material of all 6.7 million known species of plants, animals and fungi on Earth beneath the moon’s surface.

To do this, they proposed building a preservation “Ark” in a network of lava tubes, about 200 of which were discovered beneath the moon’s surface in 2013. They formed billions of years ago when underground lava flows formed massive caverns more than 300 feet in diameter.

These tubes have remained intact for three to four billion years, and scientists speculate that they could provide much-needed protection from solar radiation, meteorites, or surface temperature changes.

“We have a responsibility to be stewards of biodiversity and the means to preserve it,” said lead study author Jackan Tanga, head of the Space and Terrestrial Robotic Research Laboratory (SpaceTREx) at the University of Arizona.

Based on some “quick, detailed calculations,” Tanga said it would take about 250 rocket launches to transport about 335 million samples. That’s more than six times what it took to build the International Space Station.

Since not all the technology needed for this ambitious project exists, researchers believe it could be built within 30 years.