Scientists plan ‘space ark’ to save humanity

In 2003, the Space Shuttle Columbia was returning to Earth after 16 successful days of experiments in orbit.

But unknown to the crew, the spacecraft's left wing was damaged with a small hole the size of a dinner plate. As Columbia re-entered Earth’s atmosphere, it disintegrated high in the sky above Texas and Louisiana, killing all seven crew members on board.

In the wake of the disaster, NASA‘s activities practically ground to a halt, and a jittery US government cut back space exploration funding as the public angrily questioned these expensive, risky missions.

But all that has changed, and many plans exploring how humans can harness the final frontier are once again flourishing, supported by both governments and private enterprise.

One in particular made headlines this week: a living spaceship, an ‘interstellar Noah’s Ark’ that could launch in 100 years’ time, designed to transport humans away from a dying Earth.

Researchers from the UK are working on Project Persephone, a spacecraft made partly from biotechnologies that use organic matter such as algae and artificial soil. It would enable a few thousand people to undertake a one-way journey to find a new habitable planet.

Steve Fuller, the team’s sociologist, said: ‘If the Earth ends up a no-go zone for human beings due to climate change or nuclear or biological warfare, we have to preserve human civilization. We need nature to survive, so how do we take nature with us?’

The team is not the first to consider relocating humanity in the event of an Earth-bound cataclysmic disaster. Renowned British scientist Stephen Hawking warned in 2006 that humans must colonise planets in other solar systems or face extinction.

And many scientists agree that recreating Earth’s atmosphere will be crucial in our understanding of space survival. As scientists get closer to mapping a route to Mars, some have advocated changing the hostile surface and atmosphere of the Red Planet by planting vast numbers of trees there.

One small step

Project Persephone is impossible and unrealistic, say some, and instead, more effort should be spent on combating climate change. It simply reinforces the lazy idea that if we make a mess on Earth we can simply planet-hop elsewhere. Besides, even if it does save a few seeds of life from Earth, it could only save a tiny number of its inhabitants.

But others say that scientific innovation like this is imperative. Resources on Earth are finite and a range of threats, such as asteroid collisions or nuclear disasters, make it hugely important. Even if the end is literally light years away, the research could also provide important solutions for how to live sustainably on Earth.