When it comes to living a human mark on nature, a proposed Burning Man project is taking things to a cosmic and literal new level. It’s called Genome Laser, and if creators Michael Raasch (AKA Skippy), Vincent Rebers and Alex Housley can raise $4,500 before the festival, it will project individual human genomes onto the Nevada desert sky.
First, the U.K.-based Ooligan Alley team will encode the 3.2 billion base pairs of the human genome, and then use custom-built pattern generation software transform the data into an epic light show to be projected into space using a 60-watt laser controller. The lasers will be situated atop the “Aspire Tower,” which Burning Man’s International Arts Megacrew is set to build as a futuristic “beacon for navigation.”
“It’s made from hope and ambition,” co-founder Skippy tells Wired.co.uk. “As well as a load of sketchy bamboo and some finagled steel.”
Alright then. Want to see your genome broadcast into the cosmos? All you have to do is donate $2,000 to Genome Laser’s Indiegogo campaign. If that seems a bit steep, you can always opt for the $15 mission patch and laptop sticker combo.
