Underground 'Lunar Ark': Scientists' Plan to Preserve Species

China and Russia to build a lunar space station 0:39

(CNN) -

A group of engineers wants to build an underground lunar ark and fill it with millions of seeds, spores, sperm and eggs of species from Earth.

This vault would be hidden in a network of tubes on the Moon to provide genetic backup to the planet in the event of an apocalyptic scenario.

Scientists at the University of Arizona proposed the creation of the ark, called a "modern global insurance policy" for 6.7 million species on Earth, which would be cryogenically preserved and hidden within a series of tunnels and caves below the surface of Moon.

Experts said the vault could protect genetic materials in the event of a "total annihilation of the Earth."

This could be triggered by a great loss of biodiversity.

However, any measure to build such a bunker is still a long way off.

"Earth is by nature a volatile environment," researcher Jekan Thanga said in a statement.

Thanga is Professor of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Arizona School of Engineering.

“As humans we narrowly escaped about 75,000 years ago with the Toba supervolcanic eruption, which triggered a 1,000-year cooling period and, according to some, aligns with an estimated decline in human diversity.

Since human civilization has such a large footprint, if it collapsed, that could have a negative cascading effect on the rest of the planet, "he added.

The 'lunar ark' proposal has ... more terrestrial antecedents

Similar "end of the world vaults" already exist on Earth.

There is, for example, the Global Seed Vault with just under a million seed samples.

This vault is located on a remote island in Svalbard, an archipelago located between Norway and the North Pole.

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In a paper presented earlier this month, the University of Arizona team said their concept could preserve life on Earth in the event that the planet we call home is destroyed.

The researchers say the project relies on advances in cryobotics technology.

In order to be cryopreserved, the seeds have to be cooled to -180 degrees Celsius, while the stem cells must be stored at -105 degrees Celsius.

However, the team says that, at those temperatures, the metal parts of the base could freeze, jam or cold weld.

Scientists also do not yet understand how the lack of gravity could affect preserved seeds or how to communicate with a base on Earth.

How would the underground vault be accessed?

(Credit: University of Arkansas School of Engineering)

In 2013, experts discovered a network of about 200 lava tubes that were located below the surface of the Moon.

These tubes had formed when streams of lava melted through soft rock and formed underground tunnels billions of years ago.

Scientists believe the tubes, which are 100 meters in diameter, could be the perfect shelter for the valuable cargo.

They would protect it from solar radiation, changes in surface temperature, and micrometeorites.

The underground lunar ark, powered by solar panels, would be accessed by elevator shafts that would lead to a facility that would store the cryogenic preservation modules.

Scientists say it would take 250 rocket launches to transport about 50 samples of each of the 6.7 million species to the moon.

Some construction is already planned on the Moon for another project.

Last week, China and Russia agreed to jointly build a lunar space station that will be "open to all countries."

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