Chinese company launches world’s first gene bank into space

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A Shanghai-based company has successfully launched the world's first gene bank, DSB-01, to space on-board Long March 4 series rocket at the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in China's Shanxi Province on Thursday.

The gene bank containing the genes of eight Chinese individuals who come from different walks of life is expected to create a new civilization for humankind.

By comparing the gene data stored in the Genetic Lyophilized Powder (GLP) in the space and on the ground, the project is able to obtain the impact of space environment on GLP storage. Scientists are able to develop a gene storage device that resists cosmic radiation and permanently preserves human seeds (genes) both on earth and space.

Initiated by Shanghai ManWei Technology Company, Ltd, or MARVEL TECH, this project could prove vital for interstellar migration and gene regeneration in the future.

According to the company, the DSB-01 can maintain safe in the orbit for a maximum of 975 years.

As the population of humankind continues to increase at unprecedented rates, earth science experts believe that the planet will become crowded and inhabitable within four hundred years. Depletion of the earth's resources is also expected to bring about various conflicts.

Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX – a US aerospace manufacturer and space transportation services company – believes the answer to the future of humankind can be found in outer space.

He also announced a plan to transport one million people to Mars at the 67th annual International Astronautical Congress in Guadalajara, Mexico, in 2016.

(With the input from ChinaDaily)

(Top Image: DSB-01, which is regarded as the world's first outer space gene bank and attached to the Space Proving Platform (SPP) on the space exploration Long March 4 series rocket, was launched at the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in China's Shanxi Province on Thursday. /ChinaDaily Photo)