Q: Why is there a rounded pile of gravel topped with a little red cottage right by the highway to Västerås?
A: Swedish Cabin on Moon Project by Local Artist.
Q: What the heck?
A: The local artist who designed a Swedish cottage tree house hotel and a Swedish cottage underwater hotel (both right here in downtown Västerås) has decided it is time to put a Swedish cabin on the moon.
Goals for the project:
To express artistic creativity.
To strengthen the international impression of Sweden as being high-tech.
To symbolically represent Sweden for all the world (cabin on the moon is for Sweden what opera house is for Sydney or the Eiffel tower is for France).
To, in the new moon race, be the 3rd nation to do a lunar landing.
To prove that it can be done.
To symbolize humankind.
To be a sort of all-seeing eye looking over us.
To show the desire of some humans to live on other planets.
Hoped for results:
When people see this little cabin on the moon, they will realize how fragile our place is on the earth. It can be symbol and reminder of how our landscape will look like in the future considering dire ecological projections, as well as a reminder of how beautiful our landscape is.
To have a house ready for the Americans when they arrive as proposed in 2020.
Estimated cost in US dollars (at current exchange rate): 76,653,031,216.06 USD
(privately funded with most coming from advertisers and rich people that want their grandchildren to be able to visit)
Personal commentary:
I have been thinking of this in terms of Kant’s categorical imperative morality. (A moral act is one which would be the right thing to do for any person in similar circumstances.) If all others were in similar circumstances I can imagine the moon cluttered with all kinds of symbolic representations: a Stonehenge for England, a pyramid for Egypt, a Parthenon for Greece, a wall for China, a castle for Germany, a pagoda for Japan, a lotus blossom for Buddhists, a menorah for Jews...etc. While we’re at it, why don’t we put a bulldozer up there for my dad and a giant goose up there for my mom? Does Mr. Genberg really think he is the only one that is going to be able to put stuff up there? Indeed, the feat of erecting such items on the moon would be grand symbol for the genius and glory of humanity...that is until the New Zealanders become disgruntled with Australia and bomb their lunar opera house who in turn build a gallows on which to mount the New Zealander’s lunar Kiwi. The Christians become disgruntled because others are always criticizing their giant lunar Jesus, and the atheists band together with the Russians because they don’t have proportional representation. As a grand symbol for humanity, the moon too could have it’s own World War and end up even more desolate that it already is. I can’t think of any better use for 76 billion dollars, can you?
2 comments:
I think you are overlooking the industrial and commercial significance of a Swedish lunar presence. As we all know, the moon's regolith is abundant in valuable commodities such as helium-3 and cheese. It seems a rather forward-thinking policy not to be complacent about their dominant position in the cheese business but to think of the future as well.
Also, as this endeavor appears to be privately funded, they could defray some of the costs by competing in the lunar X prize.
I'm glad you're writting a blog. The internet was starting to get kind of boring.
-jim
I agree that with all the helium-3 and cheeze, there is commercial significance to Swedish presence on the moon. But, then, I get discouraged again by world politics. I fear neither the money spent nor cheese eaten would go to the people in the world who are most in need of cheese and money - not to mention helium-3. Scientifically, if we harvest all the moon cheeze and helium-3, do we know what kind of affects that will have? Will it affect our tide systems? Will it create a flux in the fragile balance that keeps cosmic rays from reversing in their galactic magnetic path?
I'm so glad you're still out there Jim. You have been sorely missed. Please keep in touch. And do consider coming to visit. With all your forward thinking, I am sure you would appreciate being able to explore the lunar installation outside of Västerås in person. Perhaps by combining our genius we could ourseves create a superior robotic roving Swedish cottage to compete for the lunar X prize. 20 Million could possibly convince me to fudge a bit on my moral, ethical, scientific and political reservations.
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