Scientists are drawing inspiration from Noah’s Ark in a new lunar proposal called a “global insurance policy.” They hope to send an ark to the moon, full of 335 million sperm and egg samples, for fear of catastrophe happen on Earth.
Instead of two of each animal, the solar-powered moon ark would store frozen seed, spores, sperm and egg samples from about 6.7 million species on Earth. University of Arizona researcher Jekan Thanga and a group of his students praised the idea in a paper presented at this week’s IEEE Aerospace Conference.
“Earth is naturally a volatile environment,” Thanga, a professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering at UArizona College of Engineering, said in a press release. “As humans, we were intimately acquainted about 75,000 years ago with the supervolcanic Toba eruption, which caused a 1,000 – year cooling period and, according to some, coincided with an estimated decline in human diversity. The footprint of human civilization, if it fell, could have a devastating effect on the rest of the planet. “
Thanga cited climate change as the main concern, especially as it contributes to rising sea levels. Global mass warfare and large-scale nuclear war are two other key capabilities Doomsday Clock researchers are calling for catastrophic disasters.
The Svalbard Seedbank in Norway, also known as the “doomsday cellar,” there are currently hundreds of thousands of seed samples to ensure continued biodiversity on the ground. But the Thanga team believes that storing too many valuable samples on our own planet is far too risky.
Fortunately, the moon, which is just 238,855 miles away, has none of these issues.
Using lava tubes to shelter samples
By setting up the ark we would send the 6.7 million samples to the moon in several payloads, and then store them in a cellar below the surface, where they would be safe.
The idea is to store an ark within a network of lava pipes – about 200 of which were discovered beneath the lunar surface in 2013. They formed billions of years ago, when lava flows formed under the moon. ground of large caves, over 300 feet in diameter.
These tubes have remained without friction for three or four billion years, and scientists suggest that they could provide much-needed protection from solar radiation, meteors or surface temperature changes.
Although the moon is not human-friendly, its rugged features “make it a great place to store samples that need 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, back envelope calculations,” Thanga said about 50 samples from each of 6.7 million species – 335 million samples in total – would take about 250 rocket launches. That’s more than six times more than it took until the International Space Station, which had to launch 40 rockets.
“It’s not crazy big,” Thanga said. “It surprised us a little bit about that.”
The team’s proposal for the ark includes solar panels on the lunar surface for electricity, a lift-down lift into the facility and Petri vessels in cryogenic storage models.
The seeds must be cooled to less than 292 degrees Fahrenheit, and the stem cells to minus 320 degrees Fahrenheit. For reference, the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine stored at minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cold temperatures can freeze metal, so the team has introduced a kind of floating shelf made of cryo-cooled superconductor material and driven by quantum levitation using a powerful magnet.
“It’s like they’re locked in place with strings, but invisible strings,” Thanga said. “When you reach cryogenic temperatures, strange things happen. Some of it just looks like magic but it’s based on tried and tested physics principles at the edge of our understanding.”
They also recommend that robots navigate the facility on magnetic paths. Obviously, a lot of research is still needed, including the effect of a lack of gravity on the seeds and a plan for communication with the Earth.
“What amazes me about projects like this is that they make me feel like we are getting closer to being a space civilization, and to a near future. go where humanity has foundations on the moon and on Mars, “said Álvaro Díaz- Flores Caminero, a University of Arizona doctoral student who is in charge of the thermal study for the project.” Multidisciplinary projects are tough because of how complex they are, but I think it ‘s the same complexity that makes them beautiful. “