[FPSPACE] Richard Garriott to carry Stephen Colbert's DNA to the ISS

[LARRY KLAES]

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10035051-1.html

September 8, 2008 11:32 AM PDT

Stephen Colbert's DNA to back up the human race

Posted by Dong Ngo 1

Should anything happen to Earth, the human race will now be insured.

Comedy Central announced Monday that the host of The Colbert Report will 
have his DNA digitized and sent to the International Space Station (ISS). 
According to the Associated Press, Stephen Colbert's gene package will be 
carried there by famed video game designer Richard Garriott, who will travel 
to the station in October.

Garriott will deposit the "Immortality Drive," a time capsule that will 
include human DNA and records of humanity's greatest accomplishments, along 
with personal messages collected specifically for the project.

This will be the second time Colbert goes intergalactic. In May, he was the 
first late-night host to interview an astronaut, Garrett Reisman, while he 
was in space.

In a statement, Stephen Colbert said he was thrilled to have his DNA shot 
into space, as this would bring him "...one step closer to my lifelong dream 
of being the baby at the end of 2001," referring to the 1968 sci-fi movie 
2001: A Space Odyssey.

In a statement, Garriott said: "In the unlikely event that Earth and 
humanity are destroyed, mankind can be resurrected with Stephen Colbert's 
DNA. Is there a better person for us to turn to for this high-level 
responsibility?"

Stephen Colbert's answer to that rhetorical question would probably be "no."