Does the Earth need a flag? Right now, maybe not, at least not until we have actually land on another planet such as Mars or meet an alien civilization for the first time. But that doesn't mean that designing one is pointless, and a new project has proven exactly that.
Oskar Pernefeldt of the Beckmans College of Design in Stockholm, Sweden has designed new flag for the world as part of his graduation project and it is already causing a stir online.
The flag is made up of seven interlocking rings on an ocean blue background giving an appearance that is both stately and modern and is illustrated with images depicting humanity planting the flag on Mars and waving it at the World Cup.
"Centered 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," says Pernefeldt describing the flag.
"The blue field represents water which is essential for life -- also as the oceans cover most of our planet's surface. 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."
The flag is designed with space travel in mind, pointing out that astronauts are "more than just representatives of their own countries". The flag is therefore designed to "remind the people of Earth that we share this planet, no matter of national boundaries. That we should take care of each other and the planet we live on".
The flag was designed with the help of companies including LG and BSmart, and it appears NASA may have also been involved at least to some extent according to the project's website, although exactly how much they were involved and what they provided for the design isn't clear.
Is this flag the new official representative of Earth? Not yet. But it has already generated plenty of support online as people from around the world weigh in on what they like, or don't like about the flag. Overall, support for the design is overwhelming and with the support of companies and NASA, we could be seeing the beginning of a new flag that could represent not just one country, but the entire world as humans extend themselves over the next few decades and explore further and further into space.
