Comments on: Is the Moon a Good Place to store your Data?

Is the Moon a Good Place to store your Data?

randomnfactor — Wed, 23 Jul 2003 16:26:44 -0800

Is the Moon a Good Place to store your Data? A company called TransOrbital of La Jolla, Calif., is seriously considering the idea of putting storage facilities on Earth's only natural satellite.

By: Nauip

Nauip — Wed, 23 Jul 2003 16:34:22 -0800

there is also always the threat of a natural disaster here on earth, such as a small asteroid hitting the planet What if a large asteroid hits the moon facility and then parts of said asteroid come crashing down on earth? Huh? What then, Mr. Smarty-pants?

By: signal

signal — Wed, 23 Jul 2003 16:52:25 -0800

Um, isn't the danger of anything hitting the moon greater because of a little thing I like to call not having a friggin atmosphere?? TransOrbital says companies want to back up critical data somewhere other than on earth, So, in case the Earth is, for instance, blown into tiny little bits, they don't lose any data and can just keep on with business as usual.

By: 4easypayments

4easypayments — Wed, 23 Jul 2003 16:56:25 -0800

If a distaster occurs that is so large that it requires restoring data from the moon, I'm wagering that none of us are going to be too concerned about our backups.

By: monju_bosatsu

monju_bosatsu — Wed, 23 Jul 2003 16:58:50 -0800

See here for more information.

By: Hildago

Hildago — Wed, 23 Jul 2003 17:18:26 -0800

You can also apparently send objects for $2500/gram. BUT there are no monthly fees so over time you'll save money compared to terrestrial mini-storage.

By: GriffX

GriffX — Wed, 23 Jul 2003 18:01:28 -0800

I'm not an expert by any means, but I was under the impression that there are lots of rays (cosmic, stevie, etc.) and such whizzing through space that we're protected from by our atmosphere that would adversely effect magnetic recording media. Wouldn't that be a problem for stuff on the moon? Also - from monju_bosatsu's link - I'm not sure I'd want to trust my data to a company that's appartently so cheap that they use what looks like a 12 year-old's 3D Studio Max rendering for the main graphic on their website.

By: George_Spiggott

George_Spiggott — Wed, 23 Jul 2003 18:28:58 -0800

It goes without saying that you'd have to bury it. Not only does a lack of atmosphere increase its exposure to data-damaging cosmic rays (as well as increase the risk of micrometeorite impacts), but the temperature cycling on the surface of the moon is extreme; well beyond the rated capacity of any storage medium I can think of offhand. You'd have to bury it at a depth at which temperature is stable over the course of a lunar day (i.e. a month): at least several meters I would think.

By: spazzm

spazzm — Wed, 23 Jul 2003 19:55:11 -0800

You'd get a horrendous lag, though: Ping times would be at least 2.6 seconds. So quake servers on the moon is out of the question.

By: Jimbob

Jimbob — Wed, 23 Jul 2003 20:08:53 -0800

Come on folks. You all know "The Moon" is really going to be "Bobby's Attic".

By: backOfYourMind

backOfYourMind — Thu, 24 Jul 2003 05:36:39 -0800

I'm not going to read that link, because I just know it's going to spoil my mental image of this service in use. I can just imagine a scene in an office where an announcement is made over the radio that nuclear war has broken out and 3/4 of the US has been destroyed. David Brent-esque manager - "There you go, and you all laughed when I had the Accounts Payable data uploaded to the moon. Well who's laughing now? Not the guys who'll have to re-enter their financial records by hand, I'll tell you that!"

By: trigfunctions

trigfunctions — Thu, 24 Jul 2003 16:10:58 -0800

What if a large asteroid hits the moon facility and then parts of said asteroid come crashing down on earth? Huh? What then, Mr. Smarty-pants? Even worse - what if a nuclear accident at a lunar-based waste disposal site propels our moon out of Earth orbit and into deep space. Sure, the residents of Moonbase Alpha will have access to your personnel files, but that won't do you much good if you're stuck back on Earth.