Thousands of people are being asked to contribute messages for a journey into the future. ‘KEO’, designated ‘project of the century’ by UNESCO, will carry the messages into space, returning them to earth in 50 000 years.
The goal of the KEO project is to record humanity’s thoughts, feelings, hopes and dreams, including contributions from Europeans and their contemporaries from around the world, “be they small, powerful, rich or poor.” The anonymous messages will be enclosed within the KEO satellite and returned to earth in 50 millennia, to be read by our distant descendants.
But coordinators say the project will have a real impact on today’s world too. The messages are to be made available on the Internet in the hopes of stimulating a worldwide debate concerning our hopes and aspirations for our planet. A sociological analysis will also be carried out, based on the messages, in an attempt to answer fundamental questions about the state of humanity.
KEO is a non-profit association whose bold vision is being realised thanks to the participation of some high-flying partners, including the European Space Agency (ESA), Arianespace, CNES and EADS. Institutional support comes from the International Olympic Committee, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, UNESCO and the International Space University, among others.
http://europa.eu.int