![]() Two or more elevator shafts would access a series of cryogenic preservation modules where samples were stored, while an additional elevator would transport construction material to allow expansion of the facility. Solar panels on the moon’s surface would provide electricity. This information could inform the construction of the lunar base.” There, they would collect samples of regolith, or dust and loose rock, and gather information about the layout, temperature and makeup of the lava tubes. Instead of trying to develop a base for humans, “miniature flying and hopping robots called SphereX enter a lava tube in teams. “Untouched for an estimated 3 billion to 4 billion years, they could provide shelter from solar radiation, micrometeorites and surface temperature changes.” “This network of lunar lava tubes are about 100 meters in diameter,” the description notes. These structures formed billions of years ago, when streams of lava melted their way through soft rock underground, forming underground caverns. Scientists discovered a network of about 200 lava tubes just beneath the moon’s surface in 2013, according to an overview of the project. “We were a little bit surprised about that.” Also, transporting about 50 samples from each of 6.7 million species would require about 250 rocket launches, compared to the 40 rocket launches to build the International Space Station. The project would be more cost effective than trying to protect all endangered species,” he said. “That happens to be an inspiration for our modern ark.” “This concert has already been started with the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, also known as the ‘Doomsday Vault,’ where all the major seeds for the world’s food supply have been stored,” Thanga said. ![]() Luckily, he said, it’s not like the Svalbard Vault, currently storing about 1 million frozen seed samples in a facility 130 meters inside a mountain, is a complete washout. “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.” “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,” said Jekan Thanga, a professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering, who presented the project ( watch video of presentation). That’s the thinking of students and instructors at the University of Arizona who are proposing a “solar-powered lunar ark” to “store cryogenically frozen seed, spore, sperm and egg samples from 6.7 million Earth species.” Presenting the project at the IEEE Aerospace Conference last weekend, they argued Earth’s natural history – which has involved several mass extinction events – combined with the existential threats posed by climate change means A cutaway side view of a proposed “solar-powered lunar ark” to store samples of every form of life on Earth is presented during IEEE Aerospace Conference held virtually during the past weekend.
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