Daily Mail by Ian Randall 3/10/2021
Forget Noah's Ark! Scientists want to send sperm and egg samples from 6.7 million Earth species to the MOON as a 'modern global insurance policy'
• To protect Earth's species diversity, we presently store genetic material in vaults
• Material including seeds and spores could be used to recover lost species
• But gene banks on Earth are vulnerable to the catastrophes they insure against
• US experts propose to more safely store specimens in lava tubes on the moon
• The deposits would be cryogenically frozen and tended by levitating robots
Sperm and egg samples from 6.7 million of Earth's species should be sent to an ark built on the moon as a 'modern global insurance policy', scientists have proposed.
The lunar gene bank — which could also house seed and spore samples — is envisaged as being built under the lunar surface, in a hollow, cooled lava tube.
Specimens deposited in the ark would be kept refrigerated at cryogenic temperatures, with the facility powered by solar panels on the lunar surface.
More:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-9345693/Ark-Scientists-want-store-animal-sperm-egg-samples-MOON.html