Last post we looked at a guy who transcribed a copy of the complete Torah, with perfect accuracy, using a feather pen and a sheepskin parchment (it took him eight years). Today I saw a story about how the moon might be used to preserve the Torah. As newscientist.com put it, the moon will be used as sort of a backup hard drive for the supercomputer we call Earth. Let me explain.

The Torah on the Moon project is a space initiative with the goal of taking a Sefer Torah to the moon for safe keeping. The idea is, should Earth ever be destroyed by holocaust, the Torah would be safely preserved on the moon. The Torah on the Moon project team is made up of Israelis whose goal is for the Torah scroll to hitch a ride with a Google Lunar XPRIZE expedition. According to newscientist.com, last week the European Space Agency comfirmed it’s been commissioned to test the capsule that will contain the Sefer Torah scroll.

That’s just cool.

A Bible is already there by the way. A red leather bound Bible was left on the control console of the lunar rover by Apollo 15 Commander David Scott.

NOTES:

“The Google Lunar XPRIZE, the largest international incentive based prize of all time, aims to do something humanity has never accomplished: the safe landing of a private craft on the surface of the Moon. More than half of the world’s population has never had the opportunity to view a live transmission from the lunar surface.  The Google Lunar XPRIZE aims to create a new “Apollo” moment for this generation and to spur continuous lunar exploration with $30 million in incentive based prizes. In order to win this money, a private company must land safely on the surface of the Moon, travel 500 meters above, below, or on the Lunar surface, and send back two “Mooncasts” to Earth. Teams may also compete for Bonus Prizes such as exploring lunar artifacts or surviving the lunar night, and can be awarded prize money earlier by completing terrestrial or in-space milestones. All of this must be completed by December 31, 2015. The race is on!” –GoogleLunarXPRIZE.org

References:

Paul Marks, Earth’s backup: Sending religious texts to the moon, NewScientist, May, 21, 2014

Jonathan O’Callaghan, Taking the Torah to the MOON, MailOnline, May 23, 2014

Google Lunar XPRIZE

Torah on the Moon

[Image via Bre Pettis – Creative Commons]