In April 2026, Dallas-based Colossal Biosciences added the extinct bluebuck to its de-extinction portfolio, making it the sixth species in the company’s program; the bluebuck disappeared at the end of the 18th century and the project has been underway since 2024. The company says it has sequenced bluebuck DNA from museum material, identified the closest living relative as the roan antelope, and is now in the genome-editing stage. Colossal’s CEO said the first bluebuck could be born around 2028 after an estimated nine-month gestation in a surrogate.
Technically, the important breakthrough is not “revival” in the literal sense but the creation of a reproducible pipeline: ancient-DNA recovery, comparative genomics, roan antelope induced pluripotent stem cells, and edits targeted to bluebuck traits. Reports say the bluebuck project may require more edits than Colossal’s dire wolf work but fewer than some of its other targets. For lunar habitats, the relevant capability is a modular platform for preserving genomes, rebuilding cell lines, and eventually producing viable embryos from stored or engineered surrogates under tightly controlled conditions.
The Ark team should monitor three things: progress in mammalian iPSC generation from non-model species, reliability of ovum pickup and IVF in large ungulates, and how many edits are required to recover functional traits rather than cosmetic appearance. The project also exposes a strategic question for the Ark: which species, genomes, and reproductive protocols should be prioritized for cryostorage now to preserve restoration options after a civilization-scale disruption.