Random Pips

There is hope for humanity. Ever since we realized that there is a possibility of our species dying off from nuclear war, major global climate change, or asteroid impact, we have been galvanized to seek all measures of preservation of our history, culture, and even basic needs in the event of one of the above disasters or an Apocalypse of some other kind. These measures ranged from time capsules to massive seed vaults like the one way up north in Svalbard. A more recent idea is the construction of a lunar ark.

The details of what this lunar ark will comprise were outlined last month at the “Space Solutions to Earth’s Global Challenges” conference in Strasbourg, France. Scientists envision the lunar ark to be a databank placed in an underground vault beneath the Moon’s holey surface. It would contain information on DNA sequences and technological instructions for crucial processes such as metal smelting or planting crops. All this data would be continuously transmitted to as many as 4,000 secured receivers (each of which would be attached to facilities for shelter, food, and water supply) on Earth in six different languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish. In the event that absolutely no receivers are intact, the ark would continue broadcasting the data until new ones are constructed.

There were also discussions to expand the ark’s function to encompass an enormous repository of terran specimens, provided that experiments on preserving plants and living organisms on the Moon are successful. As Dr. Bernard Foing, chief scientist of the European Space Agency’s research department and executive director of the International Lunar Exploration Working Group (ILEWG), stated, “Eventually, it will be necessary to have a kind of Noah’s ark there, a diversity of species from the biosphere.” (TimesOnline.co.uk) They expect the lunar ark to be fully launched by 2035.

Although there may be some people who will scorn this project as being premature or even wasteful, I believe it is a valid form of preemptive preparation. Sure, it may not address the root causes of our world’s problems and yes, it is a pessimistic approach because in making these preparation plans, we are assuming that an Apocalypse of some sort will occur. But at the very least, it gives us the comfort of knowing our future is somewhat safeguarded by a viable “Plan B”.

I’m looking forward to the voyage of the lunar ark in 2035.