They said the vault could protect the genetic materials in the event of “total annihilation of Earth” which would be triggered by a major drop in biodiversity - but any move to build such a bunker is a long way off. Scientists from the University of Arizona have proposed an ark, dubbed a “modern global insurance policy” for 6.7 million species from Earth, cryogenically preserved and hidden inside a series of caves and tunnels under the moon’s surface. “Multidisciplinary projects are hard due to their complexity, but I think the same complexity is what makes them beautiful.Engineers want to build an underground lunar ark, filled with millions of seed, spore, sperm and egg samples from Earth’s species, hidden in a network of tubes on the moon to provide a genetic backup for the planet in the event of a doomsday scenario. “What amazes me about projects like this is that they make me feel like we are getting closer to becoming a space civilization, and to a not-very-distant future where humankind will have bases on the moon and Mars.” Álvaro Díaz-Flores Caminero, a UArizona doctoral student, added: Nevertheless, the scientists are hopeful that this project would bring humanity a step closer to becoming “a space civilization.” Understandably, there are many factors that are yet to be discussed and challenges to be overcome. Because human civilization has such a large footprint, if it were to collapse, that could have a negative cascading effect on the rest of the planet.” Credits: NASA As humans, we had a close call about 75,000 years ago with the Toba supervolcanic eruption, which caused a 1,000-year cooling period and, according to some, aligns with an estimated drop in human diversity. “Earth is naturally a volatile environment. Jekan Thanga, a professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering at the University of Arizona College of Engineering, insisted: However, the Arizona experts are clear that such a step is necessary for the future of mankind. Meanwhile, stem cells need a temperature of -320☏ (-195.5☌). The scientists fear that such low temperatures could cause metal parts of the base to freeze. They note that to be cryopreserved, seeds must be cooled to -292☏ (-180☌). UArizona researcher Jekan Thanga's ambitious, Noah's Ark-inspired project aims to preserve humankind – and animal-kind, plant-kind and fungi-kind – in the event of a global crisis. The scientists explained that the storehouse would be accessed by elevator shafts that would lead to the main facility, where all of the millions of samples would be stored.Īccording to the specialists, the construction of the vault would be dependent on how advanced cryo-robotics technology is. The “modern global insurance policy” would be powered by solar panels. They plan to hide the vault in a network of about 200 tubes discovered in 2013, which are believed to have carried streams of lava that melted through the soft rock to form the underground tunnels billions of years ago.Īccording to the researchers, the tubes could be the perfect place for preserving the samples, as they would protect the depository from solar radiation, surface temperature changes, and micrometeorites. Credits: Fredrik Naumann-PanosĪs UNILAD explains, the moon storehouse would be home to millions of seed, spore, sperm, and egg samples from Earth’s species to protect humanity in the case of the “total annihilation of Earth.” The experts project to cryogenically preserve 6.7 million species samples on the Earth’s natural satellite. Inspired by the Global Seed Vault in Svalbard, which contains nearly one million samples of various seeds, the Arizona scientists theorized that a similar construction could be built on the moon. Scientists from the University of Arizona proposed building a ‘Doomsday vault’ beneath the surface of the moon, similar to the one in Norway.
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