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>>Another option: Time capsules of data sent out into space in containers that can survive re-entry in thousands of years. Ideally with a lot of flashy light ef

by toss1 4y ago

>>Another option: Time capsules of data sent out into space in containers that can survive re-entry in thousands of years. Ideally with a lot of flashy light effects and a persistent smoke trail on re-entry. Interesting idea indeed! How to solve the issue that there is a ~70% chance the capsules will re-enter and fall into an ocean area?

imoverclocked 4y ago
If it’s not a projectile, we have the tech already. Landing on Mars is done autonomously today but making a robot/computer to last more than 1000 years isn’t in our wheelhouse yet.
- toss1 4y ago
  >>making a robot/computer to last more than 1000 years isn’t in our wheelhouse yet. Yes, exactly my point - we can very nicely control landings to within a meter today. How can we make a craft land with any precision say 2-5000 years in the future? It'll require a power source good for 5000 years, a computer that still operates flawlessly for 5000 years, fuel that doesn't evaporate or degrade for 5000 years, and a rocket engine system that will operate properly in 5000 years. Even reduce that spec to 1000 years, or just a 500 years, and I don't see how we get there with today's tech.
  - cwmoore 4y ago
    Make millions of them and some will last outlier timespans. One low-power lightbulb that has been illuminated for over a hundred years: https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/longest-burning-light-bulb https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/longest-b...
    - toss1 4y ago
      Yes. Making millions of them would likely also make all the other problems go away. Wit a million copies, we can forget about the controlled re-entry. While around 700k of them will sink in the oceans, there should still be 300,000 that will fall on land. As long as the initial orbits, drag profiles, heat absorbtion profiles/patterns, etc. are sufficiently randomized so they all truly re-enter in a random pattern, there should be no need for propellant, engines, power, or controlled re-entry.
ProjectArcturis 4y ago
Perhaps, rather than have it orbit the earth for thousands of years, you could send it on a single, long trip. By having the projectile far away from earth, other satellites, and other gravity sources, you could improve precision and aim for exactly the center of the largest landmass. Or you could intentionally land in the ocean and make it float.
- imoverclocked 4y ago
  I like the message in a bottle approach! Maybe just flood the Earth with thousands of "bottles" which are shaped/constructed in a way as to not burn up on re-entry, land gently enough in the ocean and then float in salt-water for decades until they are found.

by toss1 4y ago

imoverclocked 4y ago

If it’s not a projectile, we have the tech already. Landing on Mars is done autonomously today but making a robot/computer to last more than 1000 years isn’t in our wheelhouse yet.

toss1 4y ago
>>making a robot/computer to last more than 1000 years isn’t in our wheelhouse yet. Yes, exactly my point - we can very nicely control landings to within a meter today. How can we make a craft land with any precision say 2-5000 years in the future? It'll require a power source good for 5000 years, a computer that still operates flawlessly for 5000 years, fuel that doesn't evaporate or degrade for 5000 years, and a rocket engine system that will operate properly in 5000 years. Even reduce that spec to 1000 years, or just a 500 years, and I don't see how we get there with today's tech.
- cwmoore 4y ago
  Make millions of them and some will last outlier timespans. One low-power lightbulb that has been illuminated for over a hundred years: https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/longest-burning-light-bulb https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/longest-b...
  - toss1 4y ago
    Yes. Making millions of them would likely also make all the other problems go away. Wit a million copies, we can forget about the controlled re-entry. While around 700k of them will sink in the oceans, there should still be 300,000 that will fall on land. As long as the initial orbits, drag profiles, heat absorbtion profiles/patterns, etc. are sufficiently randomized so they all truly re-enter in a random pattern, there should be no need for propellant, engines, power, or controlled re-entry.

ProjectArcturis 4y ago

Perhaps, rather than have it orbit the earth for thousands of years, you could send it on a single, long trip. By having the projectile far away from earth, other satellites, and other gravity sources, you could improve precision and aim for exactly the center of the largest landmass. Or you could intentionally land in the ocean and make it float.

imoverclocked 4y ago
I like the message in a bottle approach! Maybe just flood the Earth with thousands of "bottles" which are shaped/constructed in a way as to not burn up on re-entry, land gently enough in the ocean and then float in salt-water for decades until they are found.