What if a probe is sent to C/2022 E3 to drop a cache of human civilization on it?

Submitted by cyberanakinvader t3_10bxe6u in space

What if a probe is sent to C/2022 E3 like those proposed Oumuamua interceptor missions to drop a cache of human knowledge?

The cache can include the Rosetta Project, encyclopedias like Wikipedia, and general submissions such as Valphon's memory card in DHL Moonbox. The comet was chosen on the fact that it will leave the Solar System forever through a parabolic trajectory.

It's not expected for us to recover these in the future, but they will provide good purposes for search for extraterrestrial artifacts (SETA) missions mounted by other civilizations far from us.

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DarkArcher__ t1_j4cz5gm wrote

There's not really any reason to put it on a comet instead of just sending it on its own. I guess it could aid in detection but you can also just slap a ton of reflectors on the probe and achieve the same result

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_thankyoucomeagain_ t1_j4deydo wrote

Just an expensive message in a bottle w/ lower odds of any recovery by anything plus a hint of posible danger.. why even do it?

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StuckAtHomeCorona t1_j4dzo85 wrote

Sci-fi might not be welcomed here, but the Dark Forest theory makes some sense.

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welshmanec2 t1_j4fvhpc wrote

Exactly. If you can get up to speed to match the velocity and trajectory of the comet to facilitate a landing, there's no need to land on it. Just switch off your engines and you'll follow the same path anyway. You don't "hitch a ride" on something that isn't powered.

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DemSkilzDudes t1_j4cppxn wrote

C/2022 E3 (ZTF) is a long period comet, not an interstellar object. It would just come back round in 50,000 years so I'm not entirely sure the purpose of this.

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its-octopeople t1_j4cs5s0 wrote

The eccentricity of C/2022 E3's orbit is listed here as 1.0003290, which, since it's just barely bigger than 1, and if accurate, means it's on a hyperbolic escape trajectory.

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Coffee_Huffer t1_j4crhx7 wrote

In 50,000 years we would be the aliens. I see what you mean it would just be a time capsule. It would need multiple missions attached to it. To even make it worth it.

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pmMeAllofIt t1_j4cvvq0 wrote

That was it's inbound orbit, or its last orbit, which changes after this flyby.

A lot of headlines saying "won't be seen for another 50k..." mislead people at first(myself included).

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HolyGig t1_j4d20o5 wrote

Why use a comet? Aren't you basically just describing what we've already done with Voyager 1 and 2? Both contained the Golden Record which is intended to provide some basic information about humanity to any alien civilization which happens across them in the distant future.

I have an exact replica of the Golden Record cover piece framed and hanging on my wall. Its incredible.

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MattHwk t1_j4coqjf wrote

That would be a cool mission. A real message in a bottle / time capsule for the universe. Sadly, I can’t imagine it ever being funded unless maybe we could tag it onto another mission?

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Coffee_Huffer t1_j4cql43 wrote

Yeah it's really a cost benefit thing right now. Even then like you said there need to be multiple missions attached to it. It would have to be something we planned for far ahead.

We all seen how long the James Webb took. You would need at least that much time as a margin of error. That maybe a pretty generous estimate, but if this is a once in humanity shot. You would have to plan for things to go wrong.

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Hopsblues t1_j4d5iwq wrote

The complete Stargate series needs to be in this cache.

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Quwinsoft t1_j4da6aj wrote

>It's not expected for us to recover these in the future, but they will provide good purposes for search for extraterrestrial artifacts (SETA) missions mounted by other civilizations far from us.

That may not be a good thing. While we only have Earth and humans as an example, when a more advanced civilization encounters a less advanced civilization, most of the time, it does not end well for the less advanced civilization.

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sailorlazarus t1_j4eph2l wrote

Exploitation by more advanced civilizations here on earth comes from a need/desire for more resources. Be that gold, spices, slaves, whatever.

If a civilization is sufficiently advanced to have interstellar travel, we have nothing they would want. Human slaves are less efficient than machines. Any type of material that earth has can be gained elsewhere easier. I doubt they would care about our spices. I suppose they could just be cruel, but crossing the galaxy to kill off humans would be like a human flying to the other side planet to swat a fly.

EDIT: More like building a custom solid gold jumbo jet that can only use diamonds as fuel to fly several times around the globe exclusively to swat a fly that you read about in a cuneiform tablet written in Mesopotamia.

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