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On Christmas Eve in 1968 Nasa provoked outrage among atheists when the Apollo 8 astronauts read from the Book of Genesis as they orbited the moon.

So if any people of a similar disposition are reading, look away now - a team based in Israel are planning to send the Torah to the moon.

The sacred Jewish scroll would be sent along with other iconic Earth artefacts as part of the Google Lunar XPrize, a competition amongst private companies to send vehicles to the moon, with the goal of maintaining Earth's culture in the event of an apocalypse.

An Israeli-based team is hoping to send a handwritten version of the Torah (stock image shown) to the surface of the moon. Their goal is to hitch a ride with a mission currently competing in the Google Lunar XPrize, which should see private companies landing on the moon starting at the end of 2015

The project is known as Torah on the Moon and is based in Tel Aviv.

THE GOOGLE LUNAR XPRIZE

The Google Lunar XPrize, the largest international incentive based prize of all time, is tasking private organisations with safely landing on the surface of the moon.

'More than half of the world's population has never had the opportunity to view a live transmission from the lunar surface,' say the organisers.

The Google Lunar XPRIZE aims to create a new 'Apollo' moment for this generation and to spur continuous lunar exploration with $40 Million in incentive based prizes.

In order to win this money, a private company must land safely on the surface of the moon, travel 500 meters above, below, or on the Lunar surface, and send back two 'Mooncasts' to Earth

The team are hoping to send a handwritten Jewish scroll, the Sefer Torah, to the lunar surface reports New Scientist, and later the Vedas (Hindu scriptures) and the I-Ching (an ancient Chinese philosophical work).

They would each be transported in capsules that would enable them to survive on the moon for more than 10,000 years.

'This is an incredible, beautiful project,' said group founder Paul Aouizerate.

'These three texts are among Earth's most ancient documents, created over 3,000 years ago.

'They are significant to billions of people.'

To fund the mission Aouizerate and his team are hoping to raise up to £12.1m ($20.5m) by having scribes write each of the 304,805 characters contained in the Torah.

These writers would be funded by believers.

Ultimately, the goal is to ensure a significant part of Earth's culture would remain on the moon far into the future.

Thus, if Earth were to suffer an apocalypse-type event, be it a nuclear war or an asteroid impact, part of humanity's legacy would live on.

The endeavour has been considered before on varying scales, with other agencies and organisations saying humanity should create 'time capsules' that will preserve Earth's cultures and societies.

In fact Nasa's two Voyager spacecraft, currently on their way into interstellar space, each contain something called the Golden Record.

This vinyl is a collection of various snippets of Earth life and culture, from the sounds of nature to images of humans.

It is intended, if it is ever found, to be a lasting legacy of humanity's place in the universe.

The Torah on the Moon project had previously hoped to ride to the moon with a lander designed by Tel Aviv University Laboratory called SpaceIL (artist's illustration shown), but the partnership has since been cancelled. This vehicle is designed to 'hop' across the lunar surface using rockets

The prospect of creating a 'time capsule' of Earth life has been considered before, in order to preserve humanity's legacy in the event of a global catastrophe. Pictured is an 'Earthrise' as our planet came into view while Apollo 11 orbited the moon

This particular project, meanwhile, would be hitching a ride on one of several Google Lunar XPrize missions.

As yet, though, the team haven't booked a place on any particular flight.

It had initially been intended to join a lander that is being built by Israeli-based SpaceIL, but that partnership failed to materialise.

They are now sounding out the Spain-based Barcelona Moon Team to see if they would be willing to take the artefacts, but there has been no confirmation of an agreement yet.

Another obstacle is to actually create a capsule that can survive the extreme environment on the moon.

In sunlight the lunar surface can reach a scorching 123°C (253°F), but at night it plunges to a frigid -173°C (-279°F).

An attempt by Esa to make the capsule that would keep the Torah safe on the moon failed to withstand this vast temperature swing.

This would not be the first time religion and space have combined.

As mentioned earlier, the Apollo 8 astronauts infamously read from the Book of Genesis as they orbited the moon.

Buzz Aldrin, meanwhile, took communion on the moon before stepping onto the surface in July 1969.
And the Apollo 15 astronauts left a bible on their lunar rover when they left the moon in July 1971.

In 1971 the Apollo 15 astronauts left a Bible on their lunar rover (pictured in the red circle) when they left the surface of the moon. This is one of a handful of instances where religion and space have combined, including Buzz Aldrin taking communion on the moon in July 1969