Astronomy / Space Take your dna to the moon - new mission!!

[Capt. Hook]

Folks - can I bring your attention to this new fantastic Kickstarter campaign to the Moon, led by the UK!


From the BBC:
"A British-led consortium has outlined its plans to land a robotic probe on the Moon in 10 years' time.

Its aim is to raise £500m for the project from donations by the public.

In return, donors would be able to have photos, text and their DNA included in a time capsule which will be buried under the lunar surface ...

The plan has received the endorsement of a host of well-known scientists and organisations. These include Prof Brian Cox, the Astronomer Royal Lord Rees, and Prof Monica Grady of the Open University".


http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/563191665/lunar-mission-one-a-new-lunar-mission-for-everyone


(dare I say access to the time capsule once buried will be totally offline )

 

[Surfinjo]

That sounds almost a funny as those Americans paying for a one way trip to Mars.

 

[Capt. Hook]

That sounds almost a funny as those Americans paying for a one way trip to Mars.

As of now, still on the 1st day of going live with this kickstarter, over 135K£ has been pledged towards a 600K target! That's 22% of the way there and over 27 days to go! If you don't want to miss out I suggest getting a move on!

Incidentally, as this moon archive will be mostly digital in nature, how about Frontier stumping up a copy of E D with a pledge to the mission. That means someone can play the game in a billion years time

 

[Capt. Hook]

quick update: 330k pledged - c'mon you lovely Frontier players; heres your chance to take part in a real moon mission - spread the word

 

[Surfinjo]

Still not quite clear about the point of it.

Are you all hoping that some intergalactic fertile breeder will come across this stash and instantly choose a few samples to create its offspring?

I probably dump more DNA in the toilet every day than will ever make it to the moon. And there's at least a point to that.

 

[Surfinjo]

How will an investor check if their DNA has actually been taken to the moon and properly stored?

Are there any visiting arrangements?

 

[Capt. Hook]

Check out the Kickstarter page. You can post your questions there! I am just a humble backer.

Yes you may be spreading your DNA freely today but in a billion years on Earth as it stands, well, no longer by you directly... With this Moon mission, there is an alternative option to leave your legacy for the future. Personally, the option to leave digital information floats my boat more but each to their own!

EDIT: Forgot to mention Stephen Hawking is backing the mission!

 

[Surfinjo]

But seriously, with all that DNA, what about the frozen heads?

We were told by the frozen head people we would be revived in the future on one of the numerous spare bodies without heads, that will be hanging around. No-one said anything about sharing with a bunch of DNA interlopers.

I think we should be asking the frozen head people for our money back. Or at the very least, have some decent weapons so we can fight the DNA and save the future for democracy.

 

[FS3DPete]

Check out the Kickstarter page. You can post your questions there! I am just a humble backer.

Yes you may be spreading your DNA freely today but in a billion years on Earth as it stands, well, no longer by you directly... With this Moon mission, there is an alternative option to leave your legacy for the future. Personally, the option to leave digital information floats my boat more but each to their own!

EDIT: Forgot to mention Stephen Hawking is backing the mission!

Not sure I see the point in it myself.

Your DNA is only a physical part of what defines you, and it's essentially a recipe for your living machinery. Your experiences are another matter entirely. If they could encode your synaptic patterns and have them run as a simulation able to interact with the outside world somehow, then that would be a venture worth undertaking.

Even with DNA stored, what use is it? Unless cloning humans becomes legal such that you can have a body grown after your death, with your synaptic patterns re-integrated, then storing your DNA for anything other than procreative purposes is pointless.

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I'm actually more interested in the stated primary goal of the mission. They want to send a probe to the South Pole, dig beneath the surface to a depth of some 20-100m, and then retrieve geological samples to determine more about the moon's past as well as its' relationship to Earth.

That's far more noteworthy than storing your DNA and some text and pictures.

 

[a_snail]

The primary goal of the mission is obviously the most important part and for me (another backer) its a way to back science projects I'm interested in. You also get feedback for the science found.

The side benefits are a bit of fun and a way to get more backers:
1. You get to be apart of a project for exploring space using space ship and remote mining rigs (depending on the backer level, you can be apart of the decision making process).
2. If you send some DNA and the mission is successful, given the hair strand is a bit of you, you can legitimately say a) you have been to space b) you have landed on the moon (and depending on the country your from, you could be the first from your country to land on the moon (simultaneously with the rest of your country backers))
3. If you send data, then its the ultimate backup, although making use of that backup will be tricky.
4. It could make an unusual Christmas present for those people that you find it hard to buy for.

For the cost, you actually get quite good benefits (£60 for the above, cheaper options are available). Spend a bit more and the benefits get better including at the top level been at mission control during the landing, and probably meeting celebs like Brian Cox.