Researchers at the University of Arizona plan to save humanity with a lunar ark that can withstand moon lava. Think of it as Noah's Ark. In space. With lava. Which is also the plot of a sci-fi movie I would put on in the background and half-pay-attention-to while doing other things.
Earth faces many dire threats of nuclear war, accelerated climate change, environmental poisoning, and natural disasters such as super-volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tsunamis, asteroid impacts and solar storms. These threats can topple human civilization and have a major negative cascading effect on the Earth's environment leading to mass-extinctions or even total annihilation. A plan to backup Earth's biodiversity is desperately needed in the event of a major Earthly catastrophe! Without such a backup we move loose some of our rich ecosystems forever and potentially threaten humanity's food supply and its future existence.
You can read the research on their site, or check out the video above, which they describe as such:
We propose development of a modern day Ark to be housed inside lunar lava tubes. The Ark would house eggs, sperms, seeds and other DNA matter from all of the endangered species on Earth. It would serve as a global insurance policy. Earth faces probability of peril from various natural disasters and human threats such as global nuclear war that could wipe out a large number of species in a short time. Lunar lava tubes were discovered in 2013 and are likely to have remained pristine for 3-4 billion years. They are only 4-5 days from Earth. They are an excellent shelter against lunar surface temperature swings, cosmic radiation and micro-meteorites. The Ark would house these endangered species in cryo-conditions of -180 C and colder. Our research shows that new technologies are need to make this initiative possible. It will require substantial investments and advances in robotics to operate under cryo-conditions.
Lunar Ark: Saving Life on Earth from a Future Catastrophe [University of Arizona]
Image: Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons