Scientists have begun to establish plans for restocking, starting with a sperm bank – on the moon.
In what they call a “modern global insurance policy,” mechanical engineers have proposed that humans establish a repository of reproductive cells (sperm and eggs) from 6.7 million species on Earth, including humans.
And the proposed bank, or “ark,” would lie beneath the surface of the moon.
As our planet faces natural disasters, droughts, asteroids and the potential for nuclear war (to name a few problems), scientists say we humans need to orient space travel to preserve life as the planet we know.
“The Earth is naturally a volatile environment,” said study author Jekan Thanga, the University of Arizona team presented its report, “Lunar Pits and Lava Tubes for a Modern Ark” , at the Annual Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) Saturday Aerospace Conference.
Due to the instability of the planet, he said, an Earth-based deposit would leave the specimens vulnerable. As such, Thanga proposed initiating a type of planetary exodus by founding a human seed vault on the moon as soon as possible. It would store reproductive cells in newly discovered lunar “pits,” from where scientists believe lava flowed billions of years ago.
According to Thanga’s presentation, the so-called “ark” would cryogenically preserve several species in the event of a global disaster. “We can still save them until technology advances to reintroduce these species, that is, save them for another day,” he said.
According to Thanga, the pits are also the perfect size for cell storage. They descend 80 to 100 meters underground and “offer a prepared refuge from the moon’s surface,” which withstands “large temperature fluctuations,” as well as threats from meteorites and radiation.
Thanga said many plants and animals are “seriously endangered” and cited Indonesia’s eruption of Mount Toba 75,000 years ago as a cause for concern, saying it “caused a 1,000-year cooling period and , according to some, aligns with a cherished drop in human diversity. ” He saw a current parallelism “due to human activity and other factors we don’t fully understand,” he said, adding that there have already been “rapid losses over the past few decades.”
The concept “ark” is already being used in Svalbard Global Seed Vault, which houses plant seeds, that is, on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen, in the Arctic Circle, where scientists say the massive stone structure it can endure, not disturbed by humans or humans. There are more than 992,000 unique samples, and each contains an average of 500 seeds.
Thanga added that he was “surprised” by the “profitable” possibility of the mission, according to his “back-of-an-envelope” estimates. Transport 50 samples of each [6.7 million target] the species would take 250 rocket launches. In comparison, 40 launches were needed to build the International Space Station, which is in a low Earth orbit, much closer than the moon.
“It’s not big madness,” Thanga insisted. “We were a little surprised at that.”