1/7/2024 0 Comments Another doomsday vault moon![]() Not all of the technology needed to make the ark exists yet but the scientists think it could be made within the next 30 years. They listed super-volcanoes, asteroid impacts and climate change as reasons we might need to store samples of life in case we need to start again. The lunar ark concept was presented by the researchers at the IEEE Aerospace Conference in early March. Media_camera The ark would contain samples of reproductive cells and seeds from all the 6.7 million known plant, animal and fungi species on Earth. “Because human civilisation has such a large footprint*, if it were to collapse, that could have a negative cascading* effect on the rest of the planet.” “As humans, we had a close call about 75,000 years ago with the Toba supervolcanic eruption, which caused a 1000-year cooling period and, according to some, aligns with an estimated drop in human diversity*. “Earth is naturally a volatile* environment,” Prof Thanga said. Professor Thanga’s team thinks it’s safer to store the samples on a celestial* body in case Earth is destroyed. They think it would take 250 rocket trips to the Moon to complete the lunar ark. Researcher Jekan Thanga and a team of students from the University of Arizona in the US have mapped out the theory*. It is thought the ark would be in less danger on the Moon than similar projects on Earth such as the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, also known as the “doomsday vault”. The aim of having the ark underground is so it would be protected from asteroid strikes. It will also need things like an airlock and lighting for human visitors. It will require power so that all the samples inside can remain cryogenically frozen*. When the ark is complete, scientists think it could be powered by solar panels on the surface. Robots would be sent inside the tubes to start building the ark. We were a little bit surprised about that”.Media_camera The above diagram shows what the lunar ark could look like. Building a lunar ark is no small undertaking, but, based on some "quick, back-of-the-envelope calculations”, said Thanga. The discovery of the lava tube renewed the enthusiasm for the concept. This idea has been around for hundreds of years. 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”. ![]() He added, “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. In a statement, the University of Arizona researcher Jekan Thanga said, “Earth is naturally a volatile environment”. However, the construction and delivery can pose a little problem. A 30 per cent efficiency, 191 square meters of solar panels, would be enough to power the Lunar Ark. Powering such a facility should not be such a difficult task. Also, the extremely low temperatures would be helpful for storing the samples. There are hundreds of lava tubes beneath the surface of the Moon, however, they are shielded from radiation and micrometeorites. This will be similar in concept to Svalbard's famous "Doomsday" Seed Vault, but in a place where the climate crisis can't reach the specimens. As per the proposal, the moon’s lava tubes and lunar pits could be ‘ideal places’ to construct a modern-day Noah’s Ark. A team of researchers from the University of Arizona have made a proposal to build an ark, deeming it as a "modern global insurance policy" for 6.7 million species from Earth, which are preserved and hidden inside a series of caves and tunnels under the moon's surface.
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