Without electricity and liquid nitrogen: scientists have proposed creating a bank of terrestrial biomaterials on the Moon

The Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (NZCBI), together with the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum and other organizations, has proposed a plan to create a bank of terrestrial biomaterials on the Moon. Such a bank will compare favorably with earthly storage facilities, because there are many places on the Moon with eternal cold, which will save on cryogenic cooling and constant maintenance of low temperatures.

Skin samples from bluespot gobies will be studied for long-term cryo-freezing and storage under lunar conditions. Image source: NZCBI

«The lunar biorepository was initially proposed for the species most at risk on Earth today, but our ultimate goal would be to cryopreserve the majority of Earth’s species,” said Mary Hagedorn, a cryobiologist at NZCBI and lead author of the paper. “We hope that by sharing our vision, our group can find additional partners to expand the dialogue, discuss threats and opportunities, and conduct the necessary research and testing to make this biorepository a reality.”

Scientists outlined their plan and ways to implement it in an article in the journal BioScience. The work outlines ideas for managing the lunar storage of biological resources, the types of biological material for storage, and outlines the methodology for conducting experiments to understand and solve problems such as the influence of radiation and microgravity on the stored biomaterial. For practical experiments in this direction, scientists proposed using skin samples from an endangered species of coral fish, blue-spot goby (Asterropteryx semipunctata, English starry goby), the cryopreserved skin of which is already kept by the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.

On Earth, the largest project for storing refrigerated biomaterial was the World Seed Vault in Spitsbergen. Today, about 1 million seeds are stored there, which are cooled to just -18 °C. Animal biomaterials for long-term storage must be cooled to lower temperatures (down to -196 °C), which requires liquid nitrogen, electricity and trained personnel. Each of these factors individually is a reason to worry about the safety of the material, but together there is a high risk of losing frozen images in the event of an accident. The same storage facility in Svalbard, for example, faced flooding in 2017 after the unexpected start of permafrost thawing.

In the polar regions of the Moon there are many craters that sunlight never penetrates due to their orientation and depth. In these permanently shaded areas, temperatures can drop to -246°C, which is more than enough for passive cryo-freezing. To protect DNA from radiation, samples could then be stored below the surface or inside structures with thick walls made of lunar rocks.

If scientists find partners or a source of funding for the idea, then at the next stage they will begin a series of tests of cryo-frozen fish skin samples for the effects of radiation in a laboratory on Earth and on board the ISS. This will help develop packaging for the samples to transport them safely to the Moon. Such experiments would provide a reliable test of the packaging prototype’s ability to withstand the radiation and microgravity associated with space travel and storage on the Moon.

«We are not talking about what will happen if the Earth dies – if it is biologically destroyed, then this biorepository will not matter,” the authors of the work explain. “It’s designed to help prevent natural disasters and possibly expand the possibilities of space travel. Life is precious and, as far as we know, rare in the universe. This biorepository offers a different, parallel approach to conserving Earth’s precious biodiversity.”