[ajmurmann]

It not really a doomsday vault despite the media trying to portrait it like that. It's really a seed storage for anyone who wants to store some seeds.

I visited the vault a few years ago and was very disappointed to learn this. I had imagined some committee planning what we need to get back from Mad Max to normal. But it's really more like a bank lock box.

[evanb]

How did you arrange your visit to the vault? I want to plan a trip to Svalbard, and I emailed about visiting the vault, but they said they do not do tours. They even resisted my "I'm a scientist who enjoys visiting big scientific infrastructure" spiel.

[jansho]

But..

“We have to find solutions. It is a big responsibility and we take it very seriously. We are doing this for the world.”

“This is supposed to last for eternity,” said Åsmund Asdal at the Nordic Genetic Resource Centre, which operates the seed vault.

[ajmurmann]

Yes, it is supposed to last "forever". It's not however a "doomsday vault" that is supposed to protect from "doomsday events". It's not meant to carry us through the apocalypse or literally last forever.

[vivekd]

That makes a lot more sense, I'm glad you pointed that out. I was getting to thinking the Norwegians had gone crazy and started trying to store seeds to hedge against the apocalypse.