Could a Lunar Gene Bank Save Our Species?
March 10, 2005 — -- Imagine if an asteroid plunged into Earth, killing all life in a giant fireball, or hostile aliens from a far-away planet launched an invasion and wiped out all life on our planet? Or what if a mutant, deadly plague spread from person to person and animal to animal and caused a vast extinction?
OK, none of these things is terribly likely to happen. But -- what if?
Some have decided it's time to start preparing for the absolute worst. Earthlings need a lifeboat, they say, and our best option could be our closest neighbor -- the moon.
"No one likes to think his house will burn down tomorrow, but most people get property insurance anyway," said Bill Burrows, a science journalism professor at New York University and member of The Alliance to Rescue Civilization, a group set up in 1999 with human survival in mind. "That's what this is -- it's like establishing a planetary hard drive."
To get an idea of what the Alliance to Rescue Civilization has in mind, consider its acronym -- ARC. The concept is to establish a genetic Noah's Ark of sorts or a protected stash of genomes from Earth's wide array of species and individuals. The concept is somewhat similar to the Frozen Zoo project, based at the San Diego Zoo, and the London-based Frozen Ark, where researchers collect genetic material from rare and threatened animal species and store it in liquid nitrogen for future research.
The difference is this genetic library could one day be used to revive the human species. And it's not just the Alliance to Rescue Civilization that has pondered such a moon-based bank. Bernard Foing, chief scientist with the European Space Agency, said it's an idea that his agency has discussed for some time.
"If all species disappear on Earth, I think it's our responsibility to help save them," Foing said. "We have to prepare for catastrophe."
Of course, Burrows and Foing are the first to admit that such a plan is probably decades away and much needs to happen before any such project becomes even remotely possible. Still, every journey and project begins with a single step, and that, said Foing, is where the Smart-1 orbiter comes into play.
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