In a billion years time, what will be left of human
civilisation? The pyramids will have long ago crumbled to dust
and our technology rusted to nothing. Perhaps we will have found
a new life among the stars or reached a higher state of virtual
civilisation – especially if the recently announced plans to
send a couple to Mars by 2018 come to pass. Maybe Morlocks or
apes will rule the planet. The Earth might be a wasteland –
destroyed through conflict, environmental catastrophe or the
failure to spot an asteroid before it blasts us to oblivion. But
not to worry. Whatever happens to us, something of our legacy
will remain – if not on Earth then in space. Around 36,000 km
(22,000 miles) above the planet, the long-dead Echostar XVI
satellite will continue to orbit, a memorial to humanity. On
board, a 12cm-(5 inch-) diameter disc embossed with one hundred
pictures representing our civilisation – images of human
endeavour, innovation, culture and cruelty; pictures of the
natural world and the changes we have brought