Arweave loads data onto lunar lander headed to the moon, meant to last for thousands of years

Decentralized data storage platform Arweave has soaring ambitions.

Aside from the fact that the company is aiming to create data archives capable of storing the entirety of human knowledge and history, Arweave has now packed encrypted data, stored using synthetic-DNA technology, onto a lunar lander and sent it to the moon, where it is meant to last for thousands of years

Using California-based Iridia’s molecular data-storage technology, which is based on synthetic DNA and designed to deliver "orders-of-magnitude gains in density and durability," and the space exploration firm LifeShip’s lunar craft, Arweave said 0n Wednesday it has sent the "Genesis Block" to the moon.

"The Genesis Block is where Arweave's mission to permanently store the world's knowledge and history began. Early backers of the network in its 2017 crowdsale were able to choose a message in the network's first block," Arweave founder Sam Williams said in a statement. "This playful venture highlights something much more important: The use of Arweave in testing new storage technologies, in this case, molecular storage."

While blockchain technology has long promised to offer an extraordinarily safe way to store data by providing the means of archiving information in a way that can’t be altered and is encrypted end-to-end, Arweave seeks to simultaneously slash the cost required to store vast amounts of valuable data. "Reducing storage costs is crucial for humanity because it improves access to information over time. Access to information is the single most critical factor in improving the sense-making capabilities of society," said Williams.

Arweave’s Genesis Block set out for the moon aboard LifeShip’s lunar lander on Wednesday, the company said. Upon arrival, the Genesis Block will be deployed onto the moon, where, "because the lunar surface offers far greater stability than Earth’s, the Genesis block will remain undisturbed by weather and other natural phenomena for millennia to come," Arweave also said.

Last year, Arweave released the public testnet for Arweave AO, a scalable blockchain network built on its data storage platform. At the time, the firm claimed the network is more scalable than any existing blockchain.

Arweave raised $8.3 million from Andreessen Horowitz, Union Square Ventures and Coinbase Ventures in 2020. The company was founded in 2017.