Eccentric entrepreneurs like Elon Musk want to put people on the moon or Mars to ensure humanity survives a global climate disaster.
But in the event of such a catastrophe, what about our planet’s wildlife?
Scientists may finally have an answer, as they propose putting a ‘biorepository’ on the moon to safeguard Earth’s rich array of animals.
The biorepository would contain frozen cells of millions of ‘cryopreserved’ animal species, from mammals to reptiles, birds and amphibians.
In the event of life on Earth being wiped out, these cells could be hopefully be cloned to create new life – either on Earth, the moon or another planet.
Scientists at Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (NZCBI) in Washington, DC have outlined their hugely ambitious plan in a paper published in BioScience.
Although they don’t estimate the exact cost of a lunar biorepository, they say it will likely be five times more expensive to establish than one on Earth, but cheaper to maintain.