
Smallest crew required for a multigenerational trip to Proxima Centauri - Osiris30
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/611485/this-is-how-many-people-wed-have-to-send-to-proxima-centauri-to-make-sure-someone-actually/
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VerDeTerre
This analysis assumes conventional reproduction, which is probably just as
interesting in the context of general population studies; when it comes to
dealing with the issues in space travel, however, there would be a number of
options for dealing with genetic diversity (possibly even without relying on
any significant advances in biotech). For example, you could send along a
large sample of genetic material (gametes or fertilized eggs, for instance)
taken from a broader swath of the population. In that case, I'd be curious
about the sociological and psychological consequences of a group in which
children might never be genetically related to their parents.

A more science-fictiony approach might be to simulate genetic combinations and
synthesize resulting embryos. You could start with the actual parents, pairing
their genes with a database of outside contributions for an arbitrary number
of generations. In effect, you could give birth to a distant descendent.

I think the fertility issues could present bigger challenge, possibly
requiring a technological assist. And when the simulated catastrophe hits, I
suppose it's time to spin up the spare incubators and get ready for some
sleepless "nights".

On a side note, I thought it was amusing their inbreeding calculations
included identical twins. Maybe that was just to establish a theoretical
limit.

