In the rock near the Blue Origin cosmodrome in western Texas, the installation of a huge, fully mechanical clock began, which should be worked out for at least 10 thousand years. This was reported on Twitter by Amazon's CEO Jeff Bezos, who spent $ 42 million on the project.

The 152-meter-long shaft, in which the "eternal" mechanism was placed, was dug a few years ago, and around it a spiral staircase was cut out. The basis of the clock is a 280-kilogram pendulum and 20 massive gears of stainless steel with a diameter of 2.5 meters, each weighing up to 450 kg. The entire system will be powered by solar energy.

"During the work of these hours, the US will cease to exist," Bezos said in 2011. "Entire civilizations will fall and arise, new forms of government will be invented." "You can not imagine - no one can - what will the world be when they stop walking".

The idea of erecting 10,000-year-old clocks, which would make us think about the future of mankind and the whole planet, was expounded by engineer Danny Hillis in 1995. His notion turned into a project of the "Long Present" foundation, which was financed by Bezos.

The clock will be open to visit, but it will not be easy to get to the place. According to the official website, "the nearest airport is a few hours drive away," after which visitors will have to walk to climb the 600-meter slope.