The lunar ark is an interesting idea, but it is only just that at this stage. According to the researchers, carrying 50 samples from around 6.7 million organisms on Earth will require about 250 launches. However, the group believes that it is not insurmountable. The mission of this magnitude is weighty. One of the most challenging aspects of doing something on the Moon is bringing the supplies there - rocket rockets have a weight limit. Some of it just looks like magic but is based on tried and laboratory-tested physics principles at the edge of our understanding." Won't It Be Challenging To Bring The Ark To The Moon? "When you get to cryogenic temperatures, strange things happen. "It's like they're locked in place by strings, but invisible strings," Thaga said. The two are inextricably connected at a predetermined distance, which may be useful for suspending shelves of samples in mid-air or enabling robots to zoom around on magnetic tracks. A mechanism known as quantum levitation may occur at cryogenic temperatures, in which a superconductor substance floats over a strong magnet. Holding the modules this cold has an additional advantage.
Solar panels on the surface will fuel the whole rig. Elevator shafts will stretch down into the facility, freezing seeds to about -180 ☌ (-292 ☏) and animal cells to -196 ☌ (-321 ☏) in cryogenic preservation modules. How The Modern Lunar's Ark Would Look LikeĪccording to the team, the lunar ark could be constructed within lava tubes found recently just underneath the Moon's atmosphere. They said this modern global insurance policy would protect Earth's genetic diversity from catastrophe. The researchers said per DailyMail that the Moon could be a better place in the case of a planetary crisis, such as climate change, a supervolcano, or a meteor strike. According to the team, the Svalbard vault would be submerged under the seas due to rising sea levels caused by global warming.ĪLSO READ: Oldest Sperm To Date Is Preserved in 100-Million-Year-Old Amber Why Are Scientists Building This 'Modern Global Insurance Policy?'Īccording to a team of researchers led by Jekan Thanga, a mechanical engineer at the University of Arizona, building such facilities on Earth exposes them to the risk of accidental failure.įor example, climate change could lead multiple animals to extinction in the future. The Svalbard Global Seed Vault on the island of Spitsbergen in the Arctic Sea, for example, houses over a million seed samples. The notion of building gene banks to preserve lost habitats in the future is not new. Experts said these vaults would be "doomsday-proof." Specimens would be kept frozen in the ark, which would be driven by solar panels on the lunar surface.
The lunar gene bank, which may also hold seed and spore samples, is planned to be installed in a circular, cooled lava tube underneath the lunar surface. In some parts of the world, the January full moon is nicknamed the wolf moon, which dates back to the days when native American tribes gave names to each month's full moon to help keep track of the seasons. GLASTONBURY, ENGLAND - JANUARY 11: A so-called wolf moon rises over Glastonbury Tor on Januin Somerset, England.