Doomsday vault on the moon8/7/2023 ![]() Research into the resilience of these crops and plant species could be vital as the planet heats in the coming decades. Photograph: NordGenĪfter the Aleppo seed bank was destroyed in the Syrian civil war, the vault was used to replenish seeds for the first time by the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas, a regional hub based in Aleppo to study crops from the cradle of civilisation where agriculture first began. The Svalbard Global Seed Vault might look a bit like a DIY warehouse but it’s ‘one of the most important global public goods we have on Earth’. I’ve been so many times and I’m still curious.” Then you see all of the boxes with seeds from all of these countries. “When you open the door, it’s -18C – the international standard for conserving seeds – which is very, very cold. All you can hear is yourself,” says Lise Lykke Steffensen, executive director of NordGen, which is responsible for the day to day operation of the vault. It has high ceilings and when you’re standing inside the mountain, there’s hardly any sound. Scientists say they hope people will learn more about their work through the virtual tour – without running the risk of falling prey to a polar bear. The seeds could hold answers to agricultural challenges posed by climate crisis, invasive species, pests, changes in rainfall patterns and rampant biodiversity loss are studied, and it opens three times a year to accept new deposits from other seed banks around the world. ![]() “What we’ve also learned in our own studies, over the years, is that the return trip from the moon to Earth is actually a lot cheaper than the forward trip,” Thanga said.The deep-freeze, designed to last for ever, is co-managed by the Norwegian government, the Crop Trust and NordGen, the genebank of the Nordic countries. “It’s still going to be very expensive in terms of rocket launches at current prices,” he said.īut a round trip is more costly on the front end – in other words, getting to the moon takes more money than getting back to Earth. One thing on Thanga’s mind is that launching supplies to the moon isn’t cheap. The project may take decades, but researchers say it still has considerations in the here and now. “The overall number of rocket launches going would be about 250, maybe a little bit more if we’re going to go 500 individuals per species.” “What ends up being the challenge here is just to know the sheer amount of cargo that you need to carry,” Thanga said. “So the whole field of robotics in cryogenics, or even humans operating in cryogenic environments, needs to be further mastered.” “Most of the time, you know, folks don’t operate within cryogenic environments,” he said. Roadblocks to the doomsday plan are inevitable, especially as little is known about how humankind or other life can fare in the moon’s environment. Yes, all of this is easier said than done “It’s like they’re locked in place by strings, but invisible strings,” Thanga said in the release. Shelves to house specimens could use a phenomenon called “quantum levitation” so that they could stay in place, the university’s news release says. According to, temperatures can fluctuate from 260 degrees Fahrenheit during the lunar day – when the moon is fully exposed to the sun – to minus-280 degrees at night 14 days later.Ĭonceptual drawings of the facility include a preservation analysis laboratory, elevator shafts and a caterpillar-like “cryo-preservation module.”Īnything that’s stored and moved around in the tunnels would be kept at cryogenic temperatures of about minus-292 degrees Fahrenheit. The tunnels, about 325 feet in diameter, could provide protection from harmful exposure to solar radiation and surface temperature changes. The tunnels just so happen to be the same size as modern subways, making them ideal for storage.
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