Biodiversity is at risk, as few times in the history of our planet. The rate at which new species become extinct each year, in fact, has been growing steadily for years, and is likely to increase further in the future due to climate change. What to do? If we cannot save all the species at risk, there are those who propose, at the very least, to catalogue them: collect samples of the greatest number of animal species possible and cryopreserve them, so as not to lose track of them and, why not, have the possibility of bringing them back to life if ever the need arises. An enormous catalogue of terrestrial biodiversity, in short, which according to a group of scientists led by researchers from the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute should not be built here on Earth, but on the Moon.
The proposal is contained in an article recently published in the journal BioScience, and details all the phases of the project, from the collection of samples to the construction of the lunar repository. The inspiration is the Global Seed Vault built in the Svalbard Islands, in Norway, where the seeds of over four thousand different plant species (mainly of food interest) are kept to preserve the diversity of the world’s crops, in case of disease or catastrophes. The Norwegian seed bank is located over 120 meters deep in an area with rigid temperatures (it is just 1,200 kilometers from the North Pole) that allows the samples to be kept below -20 degrees centigrade with a minimum expenditure of energy. Perfect measures to preserve seeds even for tens of thousands of years. But which would not be sufficient in the case of animal tissues.
To cryopreserve animal cells – the study states – temperatures below 196 degrees Celsius are needed. And on Earth, these can only be achieved using liquid nitrogen, electricity, and human labor. These elements are expensive and susceptible to failures and accidents. For this reason, the ideal place for the storage of terrestrial biodiversity should be sought elsewhere, outside our planet. And in this case, the Moon is the ideal candidate.
The archive of terrestrial biodiversity on the Moon
In the polar regions of the satellite, in fact, there are craters that, due to their depth and orientation, are never illuminated by sunlight. And this means temperatures that reach -246 degrees, more than enough to preserve cryopreserved biological samples without resorting to any form of energy. Solar radiation could represent a problem, but by positioning the warehouse inside some cave (it has just been demonstrated that there are many on the surface of the Moon) or by building a rock structure directly on site, it would be easy to protect the samples from the genotoxic effects of solar rays.
The program detailed in the study aims to collect a type of cell present in the skin known as fibroblasts, easier to obtain and preserve than spermatozoa, oocytes and embryos, and still capable of returning to the stage of totipotent stem cells (cells that can differentiate into all tissues of the body) with the appropriate laboratory procedures. The plan includes a test phase, to be carried out on Earth and also on the International Space Station, to verify that cryopreservation and permanence in space do not damage animal tissues. And then the beginning of the collection of samples of terrestrial biodiversity.
“Initially, a lunar biorepository would target the most endangered species on Earth, but the long-term goal would be to cryopreserve the majority of species that inhabit our planet,” said Mary Hagedorn, a cryobiologist at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute and one of the study’s authors. “We hope that by sharing our vision, our group will find new partners to expand the conversation, discuss the problems and opportunities we face, and conduct the research and testing needed to make this biorepository a reality.”