gonna send him to outer space..

dyer

Not sure how many of you may have heard or read of the KEO project.. but basically it's a time capsule that's going to be sent up into space with all sorts of messages and information about earth today.. hopefully to return in 50,000 years.

quoted from wiki

KEO is the name of a proposed space time capsule which was to have been launched in 2003 carrying messages from the citizens of present Earth to humanity 50,000 years from now, when it would re-enter Earth's atmosphere. It was later delayed to 2006, then to 2007/2008, then to 2010/2011, then to 2012, and is currently estimated to launch in 2014.

Every person is invited to contribute to the time capsule. The contribution deadline was originally 31 December 2009, but as of 2011, it has been extended to 2013. Messages can be posted via the project's website or sent by postal mail. The organizers encourage everybody to gather messages from children, senior citizens, and the illiterate so that every culture and demographic on Earth is represented. The organization says, "All the messages received, without undergoing any censorship, will be embarked aboard KEO." The satellite has enough capacity to carry a four-page message from each of the more than six billion (as of the original 2009 deadline) inhabitants on the planet. Once the satellite is launched, the messages will be made freely available on the web.

KEO will also carry a diamond that encases a drop of human blood chosen at random and samples of air, sea water, and earth. The DNA of the human genome will be engraved on one of the diamond's facets. The satellite will also carry an astronomical clock that shows the current rotation rates of several pulsars; photographs of people of all cultures; and "the contemporary Library of Alexandria", an encyclopaedic compendium of current human knowledge.

if you're interested, here's the direct link to share your message with the world of tomorrow

http://www.keo.org/uk/pages/message.php

Cork boy 55

50,000 years LOL

Complete utter and total waste of money,time and energy, just creating space junk, pollution and a possible hazard.

Whats the point?

AlmightyCushion

How do they plan to store the information. I assume it's going to be digital but what current storage method lasts 50,000 years and even if it did we'd have trouble accessing it 100s of years from now. Imagine how difficult it would be 50,000 years from now.

Cork boy 55

AlmightyCushion wrote: »

How do they plan to store the information. I assume it's going to be digital but what current storage method lasts 50,000 years and even if it did we'd have trouble accessing it 100s of years from now. Imagine how difficult it would be 50,000 years from now.

"""
How would our future descendants be able to read our messages?

It is evident that what is a "must" in our technology today -a Laser reader- will be totally obsolete in the future. However, due to its volume and innate fragility, a DVD disk reader cannot be included in KEO's payload. Therefore we are currently working on creating diagrams bearing simple symbolic explanations on the construction of a DVD disk reader in order to make it possible for our future descendants to access the contents of the disks. Following the example of the Rosetta Stone, this information will be repeatedly made available to them such that it is clear and easy to decode.


"""

FAQ at link
http://www.keo.org/uk/pages/faq.html

AlmightyCushion

Cork boy 55 wrote: »

"""
How would our future descendants be able to read our messages?

It is evident that what is a "must" in our technology today -a Laser reader- will be totally obsolete in the future. However, due to its volume and innate fragility, a DVD disk reader cannot be included in KEO's payload. Therefore we are currently working on creating diagrams bearing simple symbolic explanations on the construction of a DVD disk reader in order to make it possible for our future descendants to access the contents of the disks. Following the example of the Rosetta Stone, this information will be repeatedly made available to them such that it is clear and easy to decode.


"""

FAQ at link
http://www.keo.org/uk/pages/faq.html

I thought you were taking the piss until I followed the link.

Nabber

In 50,000 years if it is retrieved, they will look at it and say 'Our ancestors were time wasters'

Maximus Alexander

That's very cynical. People make their entire living trying to reassemble the history of the human race. If we were to dig up a 50,000 year old box containing the sum knowledge of our ancestors at that time, along with personal messages and photographs, I'm pretty sure it would be almost universally interesting. Millions of people would travel to a museum to see that.

There is no reason that will be any different in another 50,000 years. Whoever is around to find this will be delighted.

The Hill Billy

Call me a cynic, but for what should be a tech-savvy organisation - it's website is appalling, there's SFA (that I could see) about how they are actually going to technically achieve their aims, & the bulk of the organisation appears to be made up of pretty 'communication assistants'.

* spidey-senses tingling *

dyer

Considering the way things are going... its doubtful we (as in globally) can sustain the population growth, or the amount of resources that it would demand to feed the people of earth as it grows exponentially in the next 100 years.. never mind 50,000.. this isn't prophecy, it's just science.

heres a nice article for you to read that i pulled off nature.com

Localized ecological systems are known to shift abruptly and irreversibly from one state to another when they are forced across critical thresholds. Here we review evidence that the global ecosystem as a whole can react in the same way and is approaching a planetary-scale critical transition as a result of human influence.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/166008/nature11018.html

Maximus Alexander

I wouldn't worry too much about that. Populations are in decline in the developed world (bolstered only by immigration). Assuming the entire world becomes developed at some point, it shouldn't be an issue.

In fact, it's predicted that global population will never exceed 9 billion.

Rubecula

Maximus Alexander wrote: »

I wouldn't worry too much about that. Populations are in decline in the developed world (bolstered only by immigration). Assuming the entire world becomes developed at some point, it shouldn't be an issue.

In fact, it's predicted that global population will never exceed 9 billion.

Added that, there is only so much biomass on the planet. The more one species takes up of that, the less there is for other species. And we do need variety.

dyer

i'm not too worried about that either as it looks like nature will sort us out in that respect although immigration does as you say 'bolster' fertility rates and genetic variation in the gene pool so it's difficult to predict precisely how things will go. i do however, worry about our growing demand on the planets resources and the dangers of pushing it beyond the point of no return, especially when conservation may become impossible as underdeveloped countries further plunder natural resources as they continue to grow.

anyway, this is all going a bit off topic

conor.hogan.2

dyer wrote: »

it's just science.

No, it is not Science. Consensus is that our population is leveling out and will level out around 10Billion (higher end) by around 2050.
The problem is distribution (and politics/co-operation) not high population.


In general on the cynicism, even if none of this is readable in the future any historian or archaeologist will live to have it anyway.

dyer

my reference was to dwindling natural resources not population growth specifically. however its worth remembering the consensus points to a decline which relies on variable factors, many of which might not pan out the way we expect them to.

Capt'n Midnight

can't remember if the novel was Footfall but an ancient civilisation left behind large granite rocks about 1m thick , which had been laser etched the whole way through


cheaper way to get permanent record



do they say how they will create an aurora ?
did they say how they will avoid hitting the ocean etc ?