UK scientists are working on developing a self-sustaining spacecraft described as an interstellar Noah’s Ark, capable of carrying humans away from Earth in the event of a global disaster.
British researchers are collaborating with colleagues from the US, the Netherlands and Italy on Project Persephone, to investigate new bio-technologies that could help create a self-sustaining spaceship.
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The structure of the planned spacecraft would incorporate organic matter such as algae and artificial soil, and use energy from the Sun to create biofuel and a sustainable food source, reports The Times.
According to researchers, the spaceship would need to keep thousands of people alive for several generations on a one-way mission aimed at finding a new world to inhabit.
The project has been in development for the past year and comprises 13 designers, including six UK designers, and is being led by University of Greenwich senior architecture and design lecturer Rachel Armstrong.
According to the team’s sociologist Steve Fuller, based at the University of Warwick, this type of project was necessary to ensure the survival of the human race.
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By GlobalData"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 civilisation," Fuller said. "We need nature to survive, so how do we take nature with us?"
Armstrong’s research primarily focuses on developing artificial soil, bio-engineering and developing droplets of water, which can be programmed to carry key elements.
