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       There are many threats to human existence on Earth. There are inactive super volcanoes that could erupt and kill billions of people. Climate change is not as dramatic but does pose an existential threat. Comets or asteroids impacts could devastate the surface of the planet and wipe out the entire ecosystem. The human race could start a nuclear war that would result in the death of billions and the end of human civilization. A natural or artificial plague could sweep across the Earth, wiping out a large percent of the human population. The continued existence of human civilization with billions of people is not guaranteed.
       SpaceLife Orgin is a biotech startup located in San Francisco, California. They are working to enable human reproduction in space as an insurance policy in the face of all these existential dangers to human life on Earth. They have three missions planned for the next few years.
       The first mission of SpaceLife is called “Mission Arc.” They intend to launch the mission in 2020. The core of the mission is one thousand protected tubes containing human reproductive cells in special radiation proof Ark containers. The cells, male sperm and female eggs, will be harvested in approved and supervised IVF clinics around the world. The cells will be vitrified by cooling them with cryopreservative chemicals to prevent the formation of ice crystals. The Arks are then stored in secure locations around the globe and in Earth orbit.
        The second mission of SpaceLife is called “Mission Lotus”. It is being planned for launch in 2021. SpaceLife is developing a new proprietary technology they refer to as a “Space-Embryo-Incubator”. These incubators will be sent into space with human sperm and eggs. After they have been launched into space, the sperm and eggs will be combined to start the formation of embryos. After four days of development, the embryos will be returned to Earth and checked. Those embryos that are developing normally will be implanted in their mothers for normal pregnancies.
      The third SpaceLife mission is called “Mission Cradle”. It is scheduled for launch in 2024 providing that the previous two missions are successful. The purpose of this mission is for a pregnant woman to give birth in space. During a twenty-four to thirty-six hour mission, a child will be born two hundred and fifty miles above the Earth. A trained team of medical experts will be on the mission to support the delivery. The risks to the mother and child will be reduced as much as possible.
       While the desire to take steps to prevent the extinction of human life of Earth is a noble one, there are a number of issues that could cause problems for  the SpaceLife Missions. There is a great deal of dangerous radiation in space that can cause biological damage. Zero gravity has negative influences on human health. Disease causing bacteria become more virulent in space. Being launched into space is very stressful on a human body. There will be danger to a pregnant woman enduring such stress beyond the usual stress to an astronaut. Returning from orbit is also stressful and it might pose threat to the mother and/or newly born baby. It will be interesting to see what happens during these SpaceLife Missions if they are, in fact, carried out.