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The immortality drive is a device now located on the International Space Station.  What purpose does it really serve?  Well, in concept the so called “Immortality Drive” is a small drive that houses the DNA sequence to rebuild humans.  Who’s DNA is on the immortality drive?  There is much speculation and there are some answers, only a few names of public figures have been released, but in all actuality there is no real way to tell.  The digital DNA imprints that have been used are already on the drive now and the Immortality Drive has already made it’s way into outer space.

The real question about this interesting little addition to the Space Station is how useful is it really.  If an advanced life form did happen to stumble across this device after the human race is gone, would they really be interested in recreating a lower level lifeforms?  The chances are not very likely. It seems that the creation of the Immortality Drive may be nothing more than a shot in the dark, when it come to the chance at making a real difference in the future of the human race.  As pointed out in the History Channel program Life After People, the International Space Station will crash into the earths atmosphere and burn up in less than 2 years time, if it is no longer manned.  So in theory this sounds like a leap forward, but we think that the minds at NASA may need to rethink this one.

The immortality drive was delivered to the International Space Station in October, 2008.  So if you were hoping to get your DNA Sequence added to the list of immortalized celebs, it may be too late.  The Immortality Drive was conceived by game designer Richard Garriott, the gentleman you see in the photograph above.  He had conceived the concept of the immortality drive and of course won himself a spot on the drive early on.

Just like the gold record that has been send up on the Voyagers explorer, this may never be found, but it is a step in the right direction.  The Voyager Golden Record holds audio information from famous composers, famous speeches and more.  On the reverse side of the recording there are diagrams and information to help who ever finds the record learn and understand how to play it. There will most likely be many more ideas, inventions and ways that we try to immortalize your life on the planet, but in the end there may be no way to achieve this in reality.

The Immortality Drive is a small memory device which was taken to the International Space Station in a Soyuz spacecraft on October 12, 2008. The Immortality Drive contains digitized DNA sequences of a select group of humans, such as physicist Stephen Hawking, comedian Stephen Colbert, Playboy Playmate Jo Garcia, game designer Richard Garriot, Pro Wrestler Matt Morgan, and athlete Lance Armstrong.[1][2] The microchip also contains a copy of George’s Secret Key to the Universe, a children’s book authored by Stephen Hawking and his daughter, Lucy.

-Quoted From Wikipedia

The Immortality Drive may have a long way to come before it is really ready for any true usability, until then the designers may need a little reality check of their own.   We think that the concept is solid, however if the space station will not make it even 2 years after the human race is gone, maybe it is time to think about relocating it to a more stable environment.  As the technologies used on the International Stace Station advance, there may be new breaks in self sustaining habitats and if all goes well life on the space station may outlive all on earth.  This may be the ultimate answer, finding sustainable life off planet.

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