Apr 20, 2025

🌍 Mission Update: LifeShip's Orbital BioVault Has Shipped!

by Ben Haldeman

We’re thrilled to announce that LifeShip’s most complete biological archive of Earth has shipped and is preparing for launch planned for late-August 2025! 🚀

This mission—Orbital BioVault—is our boldest step yet in backing up Earth’s living blueprint beyond our planet. Once launched, it will orbit Earth more than 3,000 times, attached to the exterior of the International Space Station (ISS). Floating high above our home world, this vault will safeguard a living memory of Earth for the future.

🔐 What’s Inside the Orbital BioVault?

This is the most advanced and diverse biological backup ever sent into Earth orbit. Here’s what it contains:

👥 Humanity 8000

The largest human DNA population bank ever flown to space, representing a global cross-section of humanity.
We’ve included DNA from 8,000 individuals, spanning our LifeShip community and partner collections. This record ensures that future generations—on Earth or beyond—have a rich genetic legacy of who we were.

🌱 Seeds for a New World

A curated archive of over 100 varieties of plant seeds—from ancient grains to resilient vegetables and flowering herbs. These are the seeds of hope, capable of restoring ecosystems or growing new ones in the future.

🐾 EarthSeed 500

An unparalleled snapshot of Earth’s biodiversity. This collection contains the genetic code of over 500 species, preserving the wonder and wisdom of Earth’s evolutionary journey. From coral to pollinators, fungi to mammals, this is Earth’s living code secured in orbit

🖼 Space Art Revolution

Artists are an integral part of the LifeShip Orbital BioVault mission. Alongside the DNA archive and seed bank, this mission includes a gallery of space-inspired artwork curated from the LifeShip Artist Community. These visionary creators are helping shape humanity’s cultural legacy in orbit—ensuring that our imagination, creativity, and spirit soar alongside our biology. Their contributions reflect not just what we are, but who we aspire to become among the stars.

🌎 Why This Mission Matters

We live in uncertain times. Climate shifts, geopolitical tensions, extinction events, and technological vulnerabilities all threaten the continuity of life as we know it. The Orbital BioVault is a response to that uncertainty—a declaration that life on Earth is worth saving, preserving, and continuing.

This mission:

Protects a genetic snapshot of Earth in case of catastrophe
Marks humanity’s growing role as planetary stewards and spacefarers
Inspires a global movement to back up life and build toward interplanetary resilience

🚀 Where It’s Going

The Orbital BioVault will be launched into low Earth orbit (LEO) aboard a cargo mission to the International Space Station, where it will be mounted externally. From there, it will circle Earth more than 3,000 times, passing over every nation and continent—a silent guardian of life’s legacy, visible to the naked eye as a shining star in the night sky.