KAUST, NEOM Unveil World's Largest Coral Restoration Project

KCRI is the world's largest coral restoration project, aiming to restore reefs worldwide. SPA
KCRI is the world's largest coral restoration project, aiming to restore reefs worldwide. SPA
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KAUST, NEOM Unveil World's Largest Coral Restoration Project

KCRI is the world's largest coral restoration project, aiming to restore reefs worldwide. SPA
KCRI is the world's largest coral restoration project, aiming to restore reefs worldwide. SPA

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), in collaboration with NEOM, has started working on the first nursery of the KAUST Coral Restoration Initiative (KCRI), a statement from KAUST said on Thursday.

According to the statement, KCRI is the world's largest coral restoration project, aiming to restore reefs worldwide. The primary nursery is already operational, and a second facility is being developed, both located in the Red Sea.

KCRI is funded by KAUST, a world-class graduate research university in Saudi Arabia, which was recently ranked as the number one Arab University by Times Higher Education.

The newly built nursery, on the coast of NEOM in northwest Saudi Arabia, will transform coral restoration efforts with a production capacity of 40,000 corals annually. Functioning as a pioneering pilot facility, researchers will leverage it as the blueprint for large-scale coral restoration initiatives.

Most importantly, this facility serves as a precursor to a more ambitious project: the world's largest and most advanced land-based coral nursery. This nursery, located at the same site, is an advanced coral nursery that will boast a ten-fold larger capacity to nurture 400,000 corals annually. With construction quickly progressing, the project is anticipated to reach completion by December 2025.

Home to 25% of known marine species despite covering less than 1% of the sea floor, coral reefs are the bedrock of numerous marine ecosystems. "This is one reason why scientists are so concerned about the rising rate of mass bleaching events, with experts estimating up to 90% of global coral reefs will experience severe heat stress on an annually by 2050," the statement said. With the frequency of such events on the rise, solutions for coral recovery will be "crucial for a healthy ocean.”

In alignment with Saudi Vision 2030 and its efforts to bolster marine conservation, this major initiative leverages KAUST's research into marine ecosystems and serves as a platform for trialing innovative restoration methods. Set on a 100-hectare site; the initiative will deploy 2 million coral fragments, marking a significant step in conservation efforts.

According to the statement, KCRI aligns with KAUST's overarching strategy, showcasing its dedication to catalyzing positive societal and global outcomes.

Beyond environmental restoration, the project offers educational benefits, further reinforcing its alignment with the broader strategic goals outlined in Vision 2030.

"Recent events provide a stark reminder of the global crisis that coral reefs face. Our ambition is, therefore, to pioneer a pathway to upscale from the current labor-intensive restoration efforts to industrial-scale processes required to reverse the current rate of coral reef degradation,” said KAUST President Prof. Tony Chan.

“As a significant output of KAUST's new strategy, the university is contributing the world-leading expertise of our faculty, who are working on technologies to bring this vision to fruition."

NEOM's CEO, Nadhmi Al-Nasr, said the initiative demonstrates NEOM's dedication to sustainability and finding innovative solutions for global environmental challenges.

NEOM, as a "pioneer in sustainable development" recognizes the importance of reviving coral reefs in partnership with KAUST. Through their longstanding collaboration, they aim to raise awareness about the significance of coral reefs as crucial marine environmental systems and emphasize the need to preserve them for future generations.



Private Lunar Lander Blue Ghost Falls Silent on the Moon after a 2-week Mission

Private lunar lander Blue Ghost’s shadow is seen on the moon’s surface after touching down on the moon with a special delivery for NASA, Sunday, March 2, 2025. (NASA/Firefly Aerospace via AP)
Private lunar lander Blue Ghost’s shadow is seen on the moon’s surface after touching down on the moon with a special delivery for NASA, Sunday, March 2, 2025. (NASA/Firefly Aerospace via AP)
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Private Lunar Lander Blue Ghost Falls Silent on the Moon after a 2-week Mission

Private lunar lander Blue Ghost’s shadow is seen on the moon’s surface after touching down on the moon with a special delivery for NASA, Sunday, March 2, 2025. (NASA/Firefly Aerospace via AP)
Private lunar lander Blue Ghost’s shadow is seen on the moon’s surface after touching down on the moon with a special delivery for NASA, Sunday, March 2, 2025. (NASA/Firefly Aerospace via AP)

It’s lights out for the first private lunar lander to pull off a fully successful moon mission.

Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lander fell silent over the weekend, wrapping up two weeks of science experiments for NASA. The end came as the sun set at the moon, no longer providing energy for the lander’s solar panels.

“Mission is completed,” Firefly CEO Jason Kim said via X late Sunday night. "But the Ghost still lives on in our hearts and minds for the journey it’s taken us on!"

The lander operated five hours into the lunar night as planned before it died Sunday evening. Photos of the lunar sunset and glow will be released on Tuesday, Kim said, The AP reported.

Blue Ghost launched from Cape Canaveral in January as part of NASA’s commercial lunar delivery program. It landed at the moon’s far northeastern edge on March 2. It carried a drill, vacuum and other science and tech instruments for NASA. Firefly confirmed Monday that all 10 experiments worked.

Late last week, Blue Ghost observed a total solar eclipse from the moon — a total lunar eclipse as seen from Earth.

The Texas-based Firefly became the first private company to land on the moon without falling or crashing after a string of failed missions by other companies over the past few years. Only five countries — the United States, Russia, China, India and Japan — have achieved a successful landing.

A Japanese company's lunar lander shared the SpaceX rocket ride, but took an even longer route to get to the moon. That lander from ispace is targeting an early June touchdown.

Another Texas company, Intuitive Machines, ended up sideways in a crater near the moon's south pole earlier this month, dooming the mission. It was the second incomplete mission for Intuitive Machines. Its first lander put the US back on the moon last year for the first time since the Apollo era after a less-than-perfect landing that hampered communications.

Firefly is already working on its next lunar lander and striving for one moon landing a year.