Isle of Man sends digital stamps on data storing mission to the Moon

The first digital stamps used by the Isle of Man Post Office feature the triskelion flag.

Digital Manx stamps are to be sent to the Moon on a mission to discover how data centres work in space.

Digital Isle of Man and space data storage company Lonestar are taking part in NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services programme.

It aims to explore how data could be stored on the Moon and retrieved should a catastrophe take place on earth.

Enterprise Minister Tim Johnston said the island was building on its "history of innovation in the space sector".

The possibilities this technology could bring were "hugely exciting", and the project was an example of the island participating in "pioneering new developments for businesses", he said.

'A novel mission'

A government spokeswoman said the initiative was using expertise in the island's blockchain industry to "digitise exclusive stamps that will be posted to the Moon and back" via Lonestar's lunar data centre.

Lonestar CEO Chris Stott said he felt "enormously privileged to be able to run such a novel mission from my home".

He said: "We could not do this without the island and its unique commitment to disaster recovery, space, and the global digital economy."

The government spokeswoman said the digital stamps, which each feature a different version of the triskelion flag, would be verified and tracked on the return trip to the Moon, and the trail would become part of a digital footprint.

They would then be transmitted back to the Earth as part of the larger Artemis lunar exploration programme mission, she said.