If We Weren’t the First Industrial Civilization on Earth, Would We Ever Know?

Re:If We Weren’t the First Industrial Civilization on Earth,... by beamatronic on Monday July 20, 2020 @02:41PM (#23900628)

I like the idea of putting artifacts on the moon, just for this purpose. And also on any comet or asteroid that happens to wander by. The reasoning is this: The golden rule. Perhaps we can answer the question, for some other future intelligent civilization, long after we are gone. At least someone can know, they were not alone.

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Re:If We Weren’t the First Industrial Civilization on Earth,... by aeternum on Monday July 20, 2020 @03:52PM (#23901247)

A space probe like Voyager might be our best bet. It's easier to detect an object traveling through space than one on a planet. Something on the moon will eventually become buried due to impacts.

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Re:If We Weren’t the First Industrial Civilization on Earth,... by Someone on Monday July 20, 2020 @06:05PM (#23902372)

Is the life expectancy of Voyager in deep space really higher than when it would be placed on the moon?

I wouldn’t know. On the plus side, in space it doesn’t have the moon’s gravity pulling stuff towards it, and doesn’t run the risk of matter already on the moon being thrown towards it from near direct hits.

On the minus side, in space it isn’t shielded from direct impacts from at least half of all directions (≈ half by the moon, a bit more by earth, if placed on the earth-facing side of the moon)

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Re:If We Weren’t the First Industrial Civilization on Earth,... by aaaxyz on Monday July 20, 2020 @08:06PM (#23903164)

IIRC the Voyager probes aren't on the eliptic plane, they're less likely to hit debris. Plus once they reach the interstellar medium there is not much to worry about besides cosmic rays.

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