In the age of technology, companies have all kinds of unique and even bizarre business plans and objectives. Among one of the most outrageous ones is the plan to grow thousands of babies in space. The idea is being promoted by a businessman from the European country Netherlands called Dr Egbert Edelbroek.
Edelbroek has been called eccentric in the media. His plan is to conceive babies in space, first mice and eventually humans. The objective is to have an alternative plan for the human race in case of a major extinction event, a controversial idea.
For this purpose, Edelbroek has founded a company called SpaceBorn United. The entrepreneur expects thousands of babies to be born in space within just his lifetime. The idea is to set up an off-shore civilisation away from Earth which can live on even if the planet is hit by a life-threatening nuclear fallout or natural disaster event. The idea of colonising other planets is not new. Even billionaire SpaceX boss Elon Musk has big plans to take humans to Mars.
“Humanity needs to address the reproduction challenge, we need to learn how we can safely reproduce beyond Earth. That could be in any kind of habitat, in orbit, and eventually, probably also on Mars," SpaceBorn United founder told Dazed.
The company aims to try a technology called ARTIS or Assisted Reproductive Technology in Space. It is sending embryos of mice into the orbit of Earth through a ‘bio-satellite’. These ‘bio-satellites’ will contain everything required for the embryos to grow. It will simulate gravity like it is on Earth.
The company has two missions. Under Mission ARTIS, it plans the first conception in space in 2023, followed by birth on earth. Next comes Mission Cradle, which involves having the first baby born in space in 2032.
Edelbroek has said that he believes the tests will pave the way for “morally and biologically sustainable solutions” for the birth of humans in space. The regulatory approval for human tests is reportedly pending for the company. The first test flight is expected to happen in 2023 itself.
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