Part of KEO's logo at www.keo.org depicting the satellite.

The KEO satellite is a satellite space time capsule which will be launched in 2009 or 2010 carrying messages from the citizens of present Earth to humanity 50,000 years from now, when the satellite orbiting Earth will return. This 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 represents the 3 most frequently used sounds in common to the most widely spoken languages today, [k], [e] and [o]. [1] Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... For other uses, see Satellite (disambiguation). ... A time capsule is a historic cache of goods and/or information, usually intended as a method of communication with people in the future. ... 2009 (MMIX) will be a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2010 (MMX) will be a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about Earth as a planet. ... UNESCO logo UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) is a specialized agency of the United Nations established in 1945. ... 20XX redirects here. ... Hutchison Whampoa Limited or HWL (Traditional Chinese: , SEHK: 0013) of Hong Kong is a Fortune 500 company and one of the largest companies listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. ... “ESA” redirects here. ... The voiceless velar plosive is a type of consonantal sound used in many spoken languages. ... Vowels Near-close Close-mid Mid Open-mid Near-open Open Where symbols appear in pairs, the one to the right represents a rounded vowel. ... Vowels Near-close Close-mid Mid Open-mid Near-open Open Where symbols appear in pairs, the one to the right represents a rounded vowel. ...

The messages

Every person is invited to write a message addressed to the future inhabitants — the deadline is now 2008. Messages can be keyed-in on the web, 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. 2008 (MMVIII) will be a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see Mail (disambiguation). ...

Other contents

KEO will also carry a diamond that encases a drop of human blood and samples of air, sea water and earth. The DNA of the human genome will be engraved on one of the faces. The satellite will also carry an astronomical clock that shows 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. This article is about the mineral. ... Human blood smear: a - erythrocytes; b - neutrophil; c - eosinophil; d - lymphocyte. ... Look up air in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Sea water is water from a sea or ocean. ... Loess field in Germany Surface-water-gley developed in glacial till, Northern Ireland Technically, soil forms the pedosphere: the interface between the lithosphere (rocky part of the planet) and the biosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere. ... The structure of part of a DNA double helix Deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, is a nucleic acid molecule that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms. ... A graphical representation of the normal human karyotype. ... It has been suggested that Radio pulsar be merged into this article or section. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... For other uses, see Culture (disambiguation). ... Inscription regarding Tiberius Claudius Balbilus of Rome (d. ...

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, which may no longer exist 50,000 years from now. Size comparison: A 12 cm Sony DVD+RW and a 19 cm Dixon Ticonderoga pencil. ...

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. Look up Vacuum in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Cosmic rays can loosely be defined as energetic particles originating outside of the Earth. ... “Air” redirects here. ... The Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, shines above Bear Lake Aurora Borealis as seen over Canada at 11,000m (36,000 feet) Red and green Aurora in Fairbanks, Alaska “Aurora Borealis” redirects here. ... Ariane 5 mock-up Ariane 5 is a European expendable launch system designed to deliver satellites into geostationary transfer orbit and to send payloads to Low Earth orbit. ...

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

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, with an initial launch date set for 2001. Technical feasibility demonstration and other various delays have moved the launch date to 2009/2010, contingent upon the successful completion of the Ariane 5 rocket. Year 1994 (MCMXCIV) The year 1994 was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by the United Nations. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Astronomical art. ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ... Ariane 5 mock-up Ariane 5 is a European expendable launch system designed to deliver satellites into geostationary transfer orbit and to send payloads to Low Earth orbit. ...

Similar Projects

Several previous spacecraft have included time capsules for humans (or aliens) in the far future. 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 LAGEOS-1 satellite. ... Animated, colour-coded map showing the various continents. ... Pioneer 10 was the first spacecraft to travel through the asteroid belt, and was the first spacecraft to make direct observations of Jupiter. ... Position of Pioneer 10 and 11 Pioneer 11 was the second mission to investigate Jupiter and the outer solar system and the first to explore the planet Saturn and its main rings. ... The illustration on the Pioneer plaque The Pioneer plaques are a pair of aluminum plaques which were placed on board the Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11 spacecraft, featuring a pictorial message from humanity, in case either Pioneer 10 or 11 are intercepted by extraterrestrial beings. ... Voyager Project redirects here. ... The Voyager Golden Record. ...

References

See also

• Crypt of Civilization
• Bracewell probe

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the Crypt of Civilization is considered the first successful implementation of a time capsule. ... A Bracewell probe is a hypothetical concept for an autonomous interstellar probe dispatched for the express purpose for communication with (an) alien civilization(s). ...

External links

• KEO website
• Digital Skyline - A Message to the Future
• sends genes and memes that will not return to earth