Scientists are looking to create a lunar ark of cryogenically preserved animal samples on the Moon, all in an attempt to safeguard Earth’s declining biodiversity and support future efforts to terraform inhospitable planets.

Earth is the only world we're aware of that is known to play host to a magnificent and diverse abundance of life. However, a host of factors ranging from over-exploitation to climate change have forced biodiversity on Earth to plunge into a dramatic decline. Some scientists believe that we have entered a sixth mass extinction event of life on our planet, in which ecosystems are becoming destabilized and countless species face extinction threats that are accelerating at a rate beyond our ability to counter.

Now, an international group of scientists have come together to propose an ambitious decades-long endeavour which would see partners attempt to preserve our planet’s biodiversity by storing samples taken from across the animal kingdom in a vault on the Moon.

Several institutions already exist in the present day that specialise in storing cryogenically frozen living cells, which can potentially stay alive for hundreds of years before being thawed out. These can be analysed by scientists hoping to recover DNA, cells, or even entire organisms. The problem is that these Earthly facilities require expert human management and ready supplies of electricity and liquid nitrogen. On top of that, they are vulnerable to wars, natural disasters, and a host of other dangers.

A lunar arc situated near the Moon’s south pole, on the other hand, would be isolated from many of these threats, while simultaneously benefiting from the naturally stable -196°C temperatures present in permanently shadowed craters pitting the barren surface. According to the authors of a new paper published in the journal BioScience, these conditions would allow for the design of a passive, low-maintenance base with a reduced emphasis on active cooling technology and manpower relative to its terrestrial counterparts.

Of course establishing any such lunar vault would be a leviathan enterprise, requiring international backing and expertise from entities ranging from nations and agencies, to private and scientific partners. Alongside shouldering the inevitable cost, these partners would need to develop the hardware and technologies required to safely transport the samples to their new home on the Moon, and to ensure that they are adequately protected from solar and cosmic sources of radiation. The effects of microgravity will also need to be explored, potentially by sending samples for a prolonged stay aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

Once operational, the Moon vault would initially be used to preserve biological samples of species that face the greatest threat of extinction. However, the collaboration's overarching goal is to establish a biorepository that will house most of the animal species on Earth, before eventually extending to accommodate plant life.

Looking to the far future, the scientists hope that the arc specimens could one day prove useful to explorers hoping to terraform worlds for human settlement both in our solar system, and beyond. For more science news read up on SpaceX’s plan to bring down the ISS using a powered-up Dragon spacecraft, or find out about how scientists scanned the interior of an ancient tunnel extending beneath the surface of the Moon.

Image credit: NASA, Bill Anders.

Anthony is a freelance contributor covering science and video gaming news for IGN. He has over eight years experience of covering breaking developments in multiple scientific fields and absolutely no time for your shenanigans. Follow him on Twitter @BeardConGamer

The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has issued a severe geomagnetic storm watch alert following the eruption of at least seven coronal mass ejections earlier this week. Material ejected during the intense bout of solar activity is expected to reach Earth on Friday, May 10, potentially triggering colorful aurora that could be visible accross swathes of North America over the course of the weekend.

Coronal Mass Ejections (CME) are colossal stellar explosions brought about by shifts in the Sun’s magnetic field, which launch vast clouds of charged particles accounting for billions of tons of coronal material to the farthest reaches of our Solar System. These stellar temper tantrums often occur alongside the appearance of smaller, short lived stellar explosions known as solar flares.

Whilst they may sound apocalyptic, CMEs are actually a regular occurrence on our Sun, and tend to take place with a higher frequency when our star is at the height of its 11-year activity cycle - which we’re coming up to now, by the way. The reason that we rarely experience the effect of these colossal outbursts is simply because powerful CMEs usually occur on a part of the Sun’s surface that is facing away from our planet.

The Space Weather Prediction Center (@NWSSWPC) has issued the first G4 (Severe) geomagnetic watch since 2005. The aurora tonight/tomorrow morning may become visible over much of the northern half of the country, and maybe as far south as Alabama to northern California.
Story:… pic.twitter.com/bqgd9qqnNI

— National Weather Service (@NWS) May 10, 2024

However, starting on May 7 and continuing through to May 9, Sun-facing telescopes captured a series of at least seven powerful CMEs and accompanying solar flares exploded into life on a region of our star marked by a cluster of enormous sunspots. According to NOAA, the onslaught of stellar material cast out by the solar upheaval is even now on an intercept course with Earth, and will reach our planet in a matter of hours.

Whilst the impending solar storm poses no threat to human life, the observations have been sufficient to prompt NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center to issue an extremely rare ‘Severe (G4) Geomagnetic Storm Watch’ for Friday May 10 - the first alert of its kind in almost 20 years.

According to NOAA, the material from the CMEs should merge and begin to interact with Earth’s atmosphere on Friday evening (UTC). Over the course of the weekend, the storm of high energy charged particles could interact with our planet’s magnetosphere to create auroras that will be visible across swathes of North America, and could even be seen as far south as Alabama, and northern California.

There is also the potential that interference brought on by the solar storm could disrupt orbital satellites and Earthbound communications, with the most powerful events being capable of affecting power grids, and GPS navigation systems. The operators of these critical infrastructure elements have already been notified of the potential risks, allowing them to put safeguards in place where possible.

Keep an eye on the NOAA's Space Weather Predictions website, and NASA socials for updates on the solar storm over the course of the weekend.

Image credit: NOAA

Anthony is a freelance contributor covering science and video gaming news for IGN. He has over eight years experience of covering breaking developments in multiple scientific fields and absolutely no time for your shenanigans. Follow him on Twitter @BeardConGamer