"Immortality? Send Your DNA to the Moon" [Reading Science]

US Startup Launches Service Sending Personal DNA to the Moon
Records Stored in Time Capsule for $150,000
"Aliens or Future Humans Might Discover and Revive It"

The Moon time capsule by the American startup 'Space Crystal'.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] The movie "Jurassic Park" begins with scientists extracting and cloning dinosaur DNA from mosquitoes trapped in amber fossils. What if your DNA were safely stored in a "safe zone" on the moon? Even if Earth were to be destroyed, future humans or highly advanced extraterrestrials might discover it and bring you back to life. While this idea might seem far-fetched in Korea, it has been a topic of long-standing discussion in the United States, and recently, a startup has launched an actual product that has attracted attention.

On the 24th, the American company Space Crystals announced that it will start a service next year that collects customers' DNA, injects it into crystals, and sends them to the moon. The total cost is $150,000, but reservations can be made by paying $5,000 upfront. This fee covers the cost of extracting DNA from the customer's hair and injecting it into a single crystal, taking it to the International Space Station (ISS) to grow into two crystals, returning one to the customer, and sending the other to the moon. Customers also receive a commemorative plaque containing a lunar map indicating the location of their crystal. Additionally, 1 gigabit of digital data such as videos, letters, or records can be included.

To achieve this, the company conducted an experiment earlier this year by taking 36 samples to the ISS to test whether crystals injected with DNA could grow, and succeeded. Their initial goal is to recruit 260 customers, but the "Luna Time Capsule" for crystal growth and record storage created by the company can accommodate up to 52 customers. Kevin Heiss, the company's CEO, explained, "We believe this time capsule will be discovered and opened by humans or extraterrestrials within the next 5,000 to 10,000 years," adding, "We have acquired the technology to grow crystal structures in space and are currently applying for a patent."

Meanwhile, in the United States, proposals to create DNA repositories on the moon as a safeguard against Earth's extinction have been around for a long time. In 2006, The New York Times (NYT) reported on a plan by the Alliance to Rescue Civilization (ARC) to send DNA samples of all Earth's species to the moon, like a "Noah's Ark."