Scientists draw inspiration from Noah’s Ark in a new lunar proposal that they call a “global insurance policy”. They hope to send an ark to the moon, filled with 335 million sperm and egg samples, in case a catastrophe happens on earth.
Instead of two from each animal, the solar-powered lunar orchard will store frozen seed, spore, sperm and egg samples of approximately 6.7 million Earth species of cryogen. Jekan Thanga, a researcher at the University of Arizona, and a group of his students proposed the concept in a paper presented at the IEEE Aerospace Conference this week.
“Earth is a volatile environment by nature,” Thanga, a professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering at the UArizona College of Engineering, said in a press release. “As humans, we had a call about 75,000 years ago with the Toba supervolcanic eruption, which caused a cooling-off period of 1,000 years and, according to some, corresponds to an estimated decline in human diversity. Because human civilization is like that.” has a large footprint, should it collapse, it could have a negative effect on the rest of the planet. ‘
Thanga has highlighted climate change as the main concern, especially as it contributes to rising sea levels. A deadly global pandemic and large-scale nuclear war are two other major possibilities Doomsday Clock researchers call catastrophic disasters.
The Svalbard Seed Bank in Norway, also known as the “doomsday safe”, currently contains hundreds of thousands of seed samples to ensure continued biodiversity on earth. However, Thanga’s team believes that it is precious to store such precious monsters on our own planet.
Fortunately, the moon, just 238,855 miles away, has none of these problems.
Use lava tubes to protect monsters
The erection of the ark involves sending the 6.7 million samples in multiple loads to the moon, and then storing them in a vault below the surface, where it would be safe.
The idea is to store the ark in a network of lava tubes – about 200 of which were discovered in 2013 below the lunar surface. They formed billions of years ago when underground lava flows formed massive caves, which were more than 300 feet in diameter.
These tubes have remained untouched for three to four billion years, and scientists suggest they may provide the necessary protection against solar radiation, meteors or temperature changes on the surface.
“Although the moon is not hospitable to humans, it makes an excellent place to stop monsters that have to stay very cold and undisturbed for hundreds of years at a time,” they said.
University of Arizona
Building a ‘modern’ Noah’s Ark
Based on some “quick calculations from the back of the envelope”, Thanga said transporting about 50 samples of each of 6.7 million species – a total of 335 million samples – would take about 250 rockets. That’s more than six times what it took to get the International Space Station, which needed 40 rockets.
“It’s not crazy,” Thanga said. “We were a little surprised.”
The team’s proposal for the ark includes solar panels on the lunar surface for electricity, elevator shafts into the facility and petri dishes housed in cryogenic conservation modules.
The seeds should be cooled to minus 292 degrees Fahrenheit, and the stem cells to minus 320 degrees Fahrenheit. For reference, the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine is stored at minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit.
The temperature, which is cold, is likely to freeze metal, which is why the team introduced a kind of floating shelf made of a cryocooled superconductor material and powered by quantum levitation with a powerful magnet.
“It’s like they were locked by strings, but invisible strings,” Thanga said. “When you get cryogenic temperature, strange things happen. Some of it looks just like magic, but is based on proven physics principles at the edge of our understanding.”
They also suggest that robots navigate through the facility on magnetic tracks. Obviously, much research is still needed, including the effects of a lack of gravity on the seed and a plan for communication with the earth.
“What amazes me about projects like this is that it makes me feel that we are getting closer to a spatial civilization, and to a not-too-distant future where humanity will have bases on the moon and on Mars,” said Álvaro Díaz – Flores Caminero, a doctoral student at the University of Arizona who leads the thermal analysis for the project. “Multidisciplinary projects are difficult because of their complexity, but I think the same complexity is what makes them beautiful.”