Photo/Illutration An artist’s rendition of a lunar lander and a moon rover to be launched in the second round of the Hakuto-R space exploration mission ((C) ispace Inc.)

A memory disk containing 275 languages will be launched on a lunar landing craft in winter this year as part of efforts to preserve the Earth's linguistic diversity in the event of a global calamity. 

Japanese firm ispace Inc., which is proceeding with the private Hakuto-R moon exploration mission, announced May 7 that the storage medium will be sent to the lunar surface.

The inclusion is in line with UNESCO’s policy of passing down humanity’s cultural heritage. 

According to ispace’s accounts, the decision was made during a meeting held on May 6 at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris.

The effort is part of a program aimed at retaining linguistic diversity in the event languages are lost amid predicted climate change, natural disasters and other future global crises. 

The memory disk was developed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and a U.S. company. The medium retains the 275-language translations of a section of the preamble to the UNESCO Constitution that details the significance of preserving language diversity and culture.

Ispace was seeking to become the first private enterprise to land a spacecraft on the moon but saw its lunar lander crash into the moon's surface in 2023.

It is planning to equip a moon landing craft to be launched this winter with a machine to generate hydrogen and oxygen on the lunar surface.

The ultimate goal of ispace is to serve as a window for resource development projects and other businesses on the moon.

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