Planet Earth now has a flag for interplanetary relations

When humankind reaches Mars, what flag will we plant proudly in the surface?

Planet Earth now has a flag for interplanetary relations

Let's imagine for a moment that we're on the cusp of the next great space race.

With private space enterprise a reality, the possibilities of incredible new spacedrive technologies, and a plan to colonise Mars in the next decade, it's a wonderful time to be a space nerd.

But when humankind reaches Mars, what flag will we plant proudly in the surface?

There is actually an Outer Space Treaty (part of Space Law, which is also a thing) that bans countries from claiming celestial bodies as territory.

And so, a Swedish designer has taken it upon himself to create the International Flag of Planet Earth.

Designed by Oskar Pernefeldt as a graduation project at the Beckmans College of Design, it's not yet an "official" flag for Earth - however that would be decided - but NASA is thanked on the contributors page for the project.

It's not known how they were involved, though.

"Current expeditions in outer space use different national flags depending on which country is funding the voyage," Pernefeldt wrote about the project.

"The space travelers, however, are more than just representatives of their own countries. They are representatives of planet Earth."

As a design student, he set out to design something that not only reflect humanity's existing flags - rectangular, wider than it is tall - but also has some meaning in the symbol.

Our little pale blue dot is unique in our survey of the known universe so far for its large quantities of liquid surface water - and so Pernefeldt chose a deep, rich blue as his primary colour - to offset a pure white flower.

"Centred in the flag, seven rings form a flower – a symbol of the life on Earth. The rings are linked to each other, which represents how everything on our planet, directly or indirectly, are linked.

"The flower's outer rings form a circle which could be seen as a symbol of Earth as a planet and the blue surface could represent the universe."

Pernefeldt's idea for a united symbol of our planet echoes a tradition of science fiction, which has envisioned such intergalactic assembled forces from the Galactic Empire to the United Federation of Planets.

It's likely a few years too soon for that - but the subtle modernist style Pernefeldt has proposed is a good contender: centred on an azure field, seven circles of silver interlaced, creating a flower.

That's a white flower on blue to the rest of us.

— Hat-tip to Wired magazine.

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