August 01, 2024
In a groundbreaking proposal, scientists have unveiled an ambitious plan to establish a storage facility on the Moon to preserve endangered animals.
This innovative plan would allow the country to have a sample of the most-risk animal species on Earth.
Additionally, the facility would keep samples of animals in a super-cold environment, protecting them from problems on Earth, including natural disasters and climate change, Independent reported.
“They will be 'cryopreserved' to keep them in a useful state,” scientists claim.
In a new article, written by a team led by Mary Hagedorn of the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, believes that this lunar base could help protect animals at risk of disappearing.
Moreover, creating a storage facility on the lunar base would give positive results as temperatures there stay below -196 degrees Celsius, so that the facility would act like a fridge.
Keeping it on the moon would mean there would be no need for humans to intervene or for a continual power source to keep the storage facility cool.
The scientists have already started manifesting how that would work with samples of the starry goby, a fish that will be used as an example and test.
Nevertheless, there are some challenges that could affect the storage facility plan, including transporting the animal species safely through space and to the Moon, keeping them away from radiation, and bringing all the countries together to work on the safety of the facility.