Inducing radiation resilience in frozen animal cells via mRNA coding for tardigrade damage-suppressor protein in support of space travel and Lunar storage

Earth's biodiversity is at risk. To help safeguard this biodiversity, a Lunar Biorepository at the Moon's south pole has been proposed to hold cryopreserved samples of fibroblast cells from animal species that support fundamental ecosystems on Earth. These samples could be used for revitalization of ecosystems on Earth, genetic rescue, space travel, or terraformation. Initially, samples will be primarily animal cells, but the biorepository would be designed to ultimately include all species on Earth. This biorepository will take decades to build and will potentially span millennia. To make this project a reality, certain prior steps must be taken, such as defining species selection and collection and sample management on Earth before launching in the biorepository. Many of the steps leading to the creation of this biorepository are known, with long-term radiation exposure and risk to the cells one of the greatest challenges to overcome. It is essential to understand the radiation sensitivity of cells and design strategies to avoid genetic modification to further protect cells from radiation during space travel and long-term storage. After considering various options, this review specifically focuses on exposing fibroblast cells to nanoparticles delivering modified mRNA tardigrade damage-suppressor protein. This protein minimizes DNA damage due to radiation without obvious harmful effects to the tissue and cells. This also could serve as a testbed to study countermeasures against the radiation effects during long-duration, crewed space flights.