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Presents an interview with Brian Durrans, an anthropologist at the British Museum in London, England, concerning virtual time travelling. Estimated number of time capsules around the world; Prominence of the time capsule at the Expo 70 in Osaka, Japan; People's motivation in creating time capsules; Founding of the International Time Capsule Society.

The article discusses plans to use the moon as off-planet storage for sacred texts, such as Hindu scriptures called the Vedas and the ancient Chinese philosophical work, the I-Ching, and human and plant genomes. Topics include a space flight competition sponsored by Internet company Google, called Lunar X Prize, the Torah on the Moon project, based in Tel Aviv, Israel, and plans for seed and human DNA banks on the Moon by a British company.

An interview is provided with the documentary director and professor of Christopher Riley. He discusses the 1970s Golden Record time capsule on the Voyager Project space probes, including its documenting of life and culture of planet Earth. When asked about updating the 1970s time capsule, he comments on the contemporary relationship between digital technology and humans. He mentions his communication with employees of the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration on a time capsule.

The article focuses on the development of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) time capsules in 2015. Topics include the amount of exabytes contained in one gram of DNA, the conditions required to preserve and maintain DNA, and if DNA time capsules could be created and stored indefinitely. Information is provided on possible storage in the Global Seed Vault.

The article discusses a plan to establish a lunar archive containing human DNA and a digital record of life on planet Earth, called Lunar Mission One, conceived by British space consultant David Iron and colleagues. Iron and colleagues have launched a campaign on the crowdfunding site Kickstarter.com to raise money for the set up a company that will commission designs for a robotic lunar spacecraft and will work with Appleton Laboratory in Harwell, England.

Opinion. Comments on the compulsion of 20th century people of burying time capsules and establishing a one-way communication with the future. People's need for reassurance about the future; Vision of long-term future for the human race.

Comments on the burying of a time capsule on March 14, 1991 by the Princess of Wales at the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children in London and on the inability of time capsules to represent a complex world. What the capsule contained; Other buried messages.