Probed ingest of: Scientists Warn Extraterrestrial Encounters Could Endanger Earth—a Quarantine Facility on the Moon May Be Our Last Line of Defense

Researchers Frederick I. Moxley and Anthony Ricciardi argue that a biocontainment facility on the Moon could be humanity's last line of defense against potential future alien contamination.

Researchers say a biocontainment facility on the Moon could be humanity's last line of defense against potential future alien contamination.

Moxley and Ricciardi claim that extraterrestrial organisms introduced to Earth could behave analogously to invasive species by destabilizing ecosystems or interacting unpredictably with their new environment.

We consider the possibility that extraterrestrial organisms introduced to Earth could behave analogously to invasive species by destabilizing ecosystems or interacting unpredictably with their new environment.

The authors suggest that the Moon's proximity, natural isolation, and apparent lack of a biosphere make it a secure site for biocontainment of extraterrestrial samples.

Due to its proximity, natural isolation, and apparent lack of a biosphere, the Moon can serve as a secure site for biocontainment of extraterrestrial samples.

Moxley and Ricciardi argue that constructing a biocontainment facility on the Moon should form the cornerstone of modern astrobiological risk mitigation strategies.

Constructing a biocontainment facility on the Moon should form the cornerstone of modern astrobiological risk mitigation strategies.