We study collective excitations of rotational and spin states of an ensemble
of polar molecules, which are prepared in a dipolar crystalline phase, as a
candidate for a high fidelity quantum memory. While dipolar crystals are formed
in the high density limit of cold clouds of polar molecules under 1D and 2D
trapping conditions, the crystalline structure protects the molecular qubits
from detrimental effects of short range collisions. We calculate the lifetime
of the quantum memory by identifying the dominant decoherence mechanisms, and
estimate their effects on gate operations, when a molecular ensemble qubit is
transferred to a superconducting strip line cavity (circuit QED). In the case
rotational excitations coupled by dipole-dipole interactions we identify
phonons as the main limitation of the life time of qubits. We study specific
setups and conditions, where the coupling to the phonon modes is minimized.
Detailed results are presented for a 1D dipolar chain