What to think of the Noah’s Ark project on the Moon to preserve terrestrial biodiversity? – Libération

A team of American researchers is considering creating a repository on the Moon filled with cryogenic samples of DNA from animals in danger of extinction, with the idea of ​​one day reintroducing them to Earth or another planet. A project contested by biodiversity experts, who call it “burlesque” and instead call for an urgent safeguarding of life on Earth.

What if, to preserve Earth’s biodiversity, humanity built a Noah’s Ark 2.0 on the Moon? This is not a science fiction scenario but rather the goal of a team of American researchers. Inspired by the creation in 2006 of the global seed reserve in the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard, designed to protect the seeds of all the planet’s food crops from disasters, marine biologist Mary Hagedorn began to dream of a similar vault for animals… this time installed under the rocky surface of the Moon. The idea being to “contribute to preserving the biodiversity and genetic diversity of the Earth’s ecosystems”, she explains to Release.

Detailed in an article published this summer in the scientific journal BioSciencethe researcher’s project has been widely relayed by the English-speaking press. The observation at the origin of this lunar idea is simple. Thousands of species are threatened with extinction because of man. While the latter resolves his problems on the blue planet, a dry solution