Want to leave a message for whatever comes next? Here's your chance

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Randall Webmail <rvh40 () insightbb com>
Date: November 17, 2008 2:53:35 PM EST
To: dewayne () warpspeed com, johnmacsgroup () yahoogroups com, dave () farber net
Subject: Want to leave a message for whatever comes next?  Here's your  
chance

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KEO

KEO
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search

    For the Cypriot company see KEO Ltd

KEO is a space time capsule which will be launched in 2010 or 2011[1]  
carrying messages from the citizens of present Earth to humanity  
50,000 years from now, when it will reenter Earth's atmosphere.

The KEO project is supported by UNESCO (who voted it "Project of the  
21st century"), Hutchison Whampoa and the European Space Agency, among  
other institutions. Its name is supposed to represent the three most  
frequently used sounds common to the most widely spoken languages  
today, [k], [e] and [o],[2] though this is in fact mistaken, as the  
most common sound is [a].[3]
Contents

    * 1 Personal messages
    * 2 Other contents
    * 3 Technical aspects
    * 4 Project history
    * 5 Similar Projects
    * 6 See also
    * 7 Notes
    * 8 References
    * 9 External links

[edit] Personal messages

Every person is invited to write a message addressed to the future  
inhabitants—the deadline is December 31, 2009. Messages can be posted  
via the 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 satellite has enough capacity to carry a four-page  
message from each of the more than six billion inhabitants on the  
planet. Once the satellite is launched, the messages (with personal  
names removed) will be made freely available on the web.

[edit] Other contents

KEO will also carry a diamond that encases a drop of human blood  
chosen at random and samples of air, sea water and earth.[4] The DNA  
of the human genome will be engraved on one of the faces. 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.

[edit] Technical aspects

The messages and library will be encoded in glass-made radiation- 
resistant DVDs. Symbolic instructions in several formats will show the  
future finders how to build a DVD reader.

The satellite itself is a hollow sphere 80 cm in diameter. The sphere  
is engraved with a map of Earth and surrounded by an aluminium layer,  
a thermal layer and several layers of titanium and other heavy  
materials intertwined with vacuum. The sphere is resistant to cosmic  
radiation, atmosphere re-entry, space junk impacts and so on. For its  
first few years in orbit, KEO will sport an artful pair of wings 10  
meters across that will aid in its spotting from Earth. As the  
satellite enters the atmosphere, the thermal layer will produce an  
artificial aurora to give a signal of the satellite's re-entry. The  
passive satellite will not carry any communications or propulsion  
systems. It will be launched by an Ariane 5 rocket into an orbit 1,800  
km high, an altitude that will bring it back to Earth in 500  
centuries, the same amount of time that has elapsed since early humans  
started to draw in cavern walls.

The satellite has not been built and no contract has been tendered for  
its construction.

[edit] Project history

The KEO project was conceived in 1994 by French artist-scientist Jean- 
Marc Philippe, a pioneer of space art. Messages began to be collected,  
and an initial launch date was set for 2001. Technical feasibility  
demonstration and other various delays have moved the launch date to  
2010 or 2011.

[edit] Similar Projects

Several previous spacecraft have included time capsules for humans (or  
aliens) in the far future. The Apollo 11 Lunar Module (now on the  
moon) includes a plaque showing the arrangement of the Earth's  
continents in 1969. The LAGEOS satellite (which will re-enter the  
atmosphere in 8.4 million years) contains a plaque showing the  
arrangement of the Earth's continents in the past, present, and  
future. Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11 both contain plaques that give  
pictorial information about their time and place of origin. Most  
famously, the two Voyager spacecraft each contain a golden record that  
contains pictures and sounds of Earth, along with symbolic directions  
for playing the record and data detailing the location of Earth. The  
Pioneers and Voyagers have left the solar system for interstellar space.

[edit] See also

    * Bracewell probe
    * Crypt of Civilization
    * Westinghouse Time Capsules

[edit] Notes

   1. ^ Current launch date estimation
   2. ^ Official FAQ page
   3. ^ Ian Maddieson and Sandra Ferrari Disner, 1984, Patterns of  
Sounds. Cambridge University Press
   4. ^ Edge Life Magazine, May 2003

[edit] References

    * Bridges, Andrew (Jul. 31, 2000). KEO: The 50,000-Year Mission  
to Earth Space.com
    * Stenger, Richard (Aug. 29, 2000). KEO time capsule could remain  
in orbit until 52001 AD CNN.com
    * HowStuffWorks.com (Sept. 5, 2000). Time Capsule to Orbit Earth  
for 50,000 Years HowStuffWorks.com
    * The Hindu Business Line (Aug. 29, 2002). Hutch brings space- 
time capsule project to India The Hindu Business Line
    * ChennaiOnline.com (Sept. 4, 2002). KEO, a time capsule in  
space! ChennaiOnline.com
    * The Digital Skyline (August 2003). A Message to the Future The  
Digital Skyline
    * Ashraf, Syed Firdaus (Oct. 15, 2003). Once upon a time, 50,000  
years ago... Rediff.com
    * EUROPA (May. 28, 2004). New satellite carries hopes and dreams  
of humanity EUROPA

[edit] External links




-------------------------------------------
Archives: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/247/=now
RSS Feed: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/247/
Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com