The New Beagle Voyage…on the future of species

In 1831 Charles Darwin set sail on the H.M.S. Beagle in a journey around the world collecting data that led to his discovery of the theory of evolution.  His theory would change science forever in explaining that life on earth was developed by evolution and not by God.  To celebrate Charles Darwin’s 200th birth year and the 150th anniversary of the publication of his “On the Origin of Species”, Darwin’s great great granddaughter, Sarah Darwin, is recreating the exact same five-year long journey.  In the course of less than one year, on a modern version of the Beagle, the Clipper Stad Amsterdam, she will visit all the same locations as Darwin.   The ship set sail September 1, 2009 from Plymouth, England due to return to England June 2010.  While Darwin, 150 years ago, was studying the origin of the species, Sarah, a scientist herself, will be looking to study the state of the planet today…the future of species.  Scientists from all over the world will conduct experiments onboard the sailing science lab using the most advanced scientific measurement equipment.  The study will assess where the world stands today in light of Darwin’s evolution theory.  Are we leaving behind an inhabitable world for future generations?  Will the earth survive mankind?

The voyage will be televised as a thirty-five part series on Dutch public broadcasting network, VPRO.

Follow Sarah’s voyage on Twitter here and Facebook here.

View the trailer:

Thanks to Evolving Complexity and The Dispersal of Darwin for their informative posts.