The Moon should become a genetic Noah's Ark for repopulating the Earth in case of catastrophe, suggests a European Space Agency (ESA) official.

Speaking to BBC News Dr Bernard Foing said the ark should be a repository for the DNA of every single species of plant and animal. He is concerned that if the Earth were destroyed, there would be little or nothing left of the rich diversity of life on the planet. His solution is to build a DNA library on Earth's satellite.

"If there were a catastrophic collision on Earth or a nuclear war, you could place some samples of Earth's biosphere, including humans, [on the Moon]," he said. "You could repopulate the Earth afterwards, like a Noah's Ark," he said.

The idea of a genetic ark is already being pursued on Earth. For example, the UK's Frozen Ark aims to preserve genetic material from thousands of endangered animals.

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