Scientists want to send animal cell samples to be frozen in Moon. The lunar biorepository aims to protect endangered species and the planet’s biodiversity.
In an article published this Wednesday (31), in the journal BioScience, the international team of researchers suggested that the initiative is viable due to the low temperatures near the star’s poles — which reach minus 196 degrees Celsius.
Furthermore, the location is favorable because it does not require human intervention, because it is not necessary to supply energy to maintain the samples and because it is isolated from extreme events that can happen on Earth, such as wars and natural disasters.
The first sample used in the lunar biorepository would be animal skin with fibroblast cells, a type of tissue responsible for the production and maintenance of the extracellular matrix, including collagen, elastin and other essential proteins.
The first tests used the Starry Goby — a species of fish — as an example of a sample that could be sent to the Moon.
The packaging necessary to carry out conservation in space, protection from the effects of radiation and obtaining international partnerships that allow the project to be put into practice are some of the challenges reported by the team at study.
Despite this, in the press release they highlighted the importance and urgency of carrying out the initiative. “Due to numerous anthropogenic factors (generated by human actions), a high proportion of species and ecosystems face threats of destabilization and extinction that are accelerating faster than our ability to save them in their natural environment.”
According to the team, in addition to obtaining partners to create the lunar biorepository, the next steps include carrying out more tests on Earth and aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
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