The concept of infinity is somewhat of a struggle to understand from our time-limited lives. What sort of legacy will the human planet leave? Artist Trevor Paglen has created an indestructible silicone disk which holds a selection of 100 photographs of humans, our environment and our history that will last beyond the Earth’s years. The disk is to be strapped to a television satellite and sent into space this month, slowly circling the earth until the earth is no more.

Paglen has spent the past five years on the project, interviewing scientists, artists, anthropologists, and philosophers to define human existence through 100 images.

The humourously-opinionated Werner Herzog admits the project is ridiculous. Commenting on the project, Herzog quips “It’s important to amuse the aliens.” If any alien were to find the durable disk of course, the likelihood of them being able to understand what its function is and how to access its information would be pretty slim.

The project isn’t supposed to be a serious one and if anything, is a retrospective on the human world for the human world to see. Still, the photos selected are beautiful and worth a look at.

All photos rights of Creative Time and Trevor Paglen. Find out more about the project here and here.