One of the most unexplored places on Earth is the ocean’s deepest points. We know more about the moon’s surface than what may be down there. A few people have gone deep, and what they have discovered is incredible.
Out of this world: Data backups are headed to the moon
Where’s the safest place to store data? If you said “the cloud,” go a little higher. Nope, higher than that.
The ultimate backup is literally out of this world. I recently chatted with Chris Stott, CEO of a Florida-based startup called Lonestar. Alongside NASA, Lonestar is about to send backup servers to the moon. This is so fascinating to me, and I thought you’d like to hear more about it, too.
Not your average storage unit
Here on Earth, we create 2.5 quintillion bytes of data every day. That’s equivalent to a million brand-new MacBook Pros full of data every 24 hours. Phew!
So, why put it all on the moon? Chris says there’s no better place.
“It’s a beautiful, stable platform. We’re just far enough away that we can stay in contact 24/7, but we’re far enough away to make it really good on encryption and cybersecurity.”
Backing up is so moon-dane
When we store things in the cloud, they’re backed up to soccer-field-sized warehouses full of servers. These servers are safer than your laptop, definitely, but they’re still susceptible to all sorts of earthly damage. Think natural disasters, theft and war.
The backups on the moon are a redundancy in case things here at home go really, really bad.
“You’ll still store your data here, but you’ll want to keep it on that lunar cloud. All we’re doing is transferring that cloud out to the moon.” How’s that for an added layer of protection? “Lunar cloud!” Love that.
What about disasters on the moon?
The biggest concern is a massive solar event, but there’s a plan for that, too. “We get warnings when the sun sends a flare our way, and we literally batten down the hatches and depower the equipment,” Chris says. “The charged protons wash through everything, and we power back up on the other side.”
Calling all space nerds: Download WinJupos on your PC. It’s a free, fun way to travel the planets, sun and moon.
NASA putting backups on the moon
The safest place to keep your data? Here’s why it might be in space, in 60 seconds.
$3 million in prizes
For ideas to help astronauts recycle on the moon. It costs almost $100,000 to send just one pound to the moon, so NASA is looking for new ways to turn waste into fabrics and building materials. I’m challenging all my engineer lunar-tics to put on your thinking caps and enter the LunaRecycle Challenge.
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