Malta news: Space Colony Inc

A US-based group emailed us to announce its plans to launch a “Lunar Ark” in 2018 and a “Starship Ark” two years later. John Cordina investigates, with a healthy dose of scepticism. This newsroom received a curious email recently, by a company calling itself Space Colony Earth, Inc. “I thought you might be interested in the attached information announcing our Lunar Ark. Details regarding design and construction will be released shortly,” founder and CEO Steve Lynch wrote. There is scant information in the email, though he does invite us to contact him for further information. The newsroom decided to do so, leaving the task up to me. I follow suit, but not before checking the company’s website for further details. According to a brief biography included within, Mr Lynch has a lifelong fascination with space travel, and while doing research for a writing project in 2006, he started studying “astronomy, theoretical physics, rocket propulsion systems and space travel.” Through this research, Mr Lynch claims to have discovered numerous warnings that the human race needs a backup system, to prevent valuable information from being lost in case of a catastrophe. Finding no one sharing the same level of enthusiasm, he decided to set the ball in motion himself. The “arks”. That Space Colony Inc.’s stated plans are ambitious is an understatement. In what seems to be a deliberate biblical reference, its five projects all incorporate the word “ark” in their name: the Family Arkhives, the Earth Arkhives, the Earth Ark Network, the Lunar Ark and the Starship Ark. The two “arkhives” aim to preserve data in the event of a catastrophe, as well as help provide the company with the necessary funds to carry out its project. Through the Family Arkhives, the company gives people the option to preserve information about their family, including – at an added cost – one’s own DNA. The Earth Arkhives are set to contain DNA of Space Colony Earth members who pick the option, as well as DNA from selected organisms deemed vital to the future of life on the planet. They are also set to store information on science, history, art and other topics.(timesofmalta.com) Until now, this kind of thing was part of science fiction .....