Nobody knows what happens to human beings after we die but, religions and beliefs aside, one of the few certainties we have is that we can choose the resting place for our remains. These days, that place includes outer space if we decide to make our final journey literally to infinity and beyond.
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Celestis, a private space flight company based in Houston, Texas, has been sending ashes and DNA remains off the planet for more than two decades for those who want a stay in space for their loved ones or themselves. The remains are put into small capsules. Some go out into space and come back. Others are deposited in Earth’s orbit or taken to the Moon for a certain time for an out-of-this-world tribute.
This Monday the 8th, Celestis will launch 265 commemorative capsules that it hopes will travel from Cape Canaveral, Florida, to approximately 330 million km from Earth, more or less beyond the orbit of Mars. The company says the trip will be historic because for the first time the remains will take a trip into “deep space” and stay there for all eternity.
The significance of the journey is reflected in its passengers. In addition to citizens and prominent personalities, three deceased former US presidents and emblematic figures from the “Star Trek” universe will make the trip.
The transfer will take place aboard the Vulcan Centaur VC2S rocket, from the United Launch Alliance (ULA) company, which after several delays finally hopes to complete its certification mission with the United States Space Force. This ship carries a load for NASA’s Moon program – the Peregrine lander – and the Celestis load, which travels in spacecraft that carry out scientific and commercial missions.
PRESERVATION
- Celestis notes that it preserves the entire human genome as a powder, which is then transferred to a capsule called Titanium 5, resistant to the extremes of deep space (heat, cold and radiation).
- He notes that studies show that DNA encapsulated with a salt remains stable for decades at room temperature and should last longer in controlled locations.
The goal of Celestis, which has named this flight the Enterprise Flight, is to complete an endless journey in interplanetary space for the first time beyond the Earth-Moon system.
IN FIGURES
- $2,500 It is the base price that the Celestis company charges to take DNA or ashes to outer space.
- 17 space flights commemoratives has launched Celestis since 1994.
After being launched into space and sending a lunar lander toward the Moon, the rocket is scheduled to enter a stable orbit around the Sun with the Celestis Memorial payload. At the end of the combustion phase, the ship will become the Enterprise Station, which was named in homage to “Star Trek.”
“This historic flight will take presidents, celebrities, astronauts and ordinary citizens on a journey that fulfills their dream of flying in space. “This will not only take the first human outpost into deep space, but will also take their lives and stories on an endless journey,” the company says on its website.
iconic figures
According to Celestis, the Enterprise flight will establish Enterprise Station, a historic first outpost representing humanity in deep space. Therefore, he decided to send the hair strands of three legendary US rulers: George Washington, Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy. The hair was provided by an anonymous donor.
“We feel it is an honorable tribute to those three presidents to put them on this first historic mission,” said the Celestis president.
ILLUSTRIOUS PASSENGERS
Former US presidents
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George Washington (1789-1797)
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Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953-1961)
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John F. Kennedy (1961-1963)
Also making the trip will be the remains or DNA samples of the creator of the famous science fiction television series “Star Trek,” Gene Roddenberry, his wife, Majel Barrett Roddenberry, and the stars of the original series Nichelle Nichols, DeForest Kelley and James Doohan. They all died between 1991 and 2022.
“The New York Times” recalls that Roddenberry’s ashes have been sent to space several times before, including on the first Celestis space flight to transport ashes in 1997.
Illustrious passengers
Figures from the “Star Trek” universe
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Gene Roddenberry (Creator of “Star Trek”)
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Nichelle Nichols (Lieutenant Nyota Uhura)
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DeForest Kelley (Dr. McCoy)
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James Doohan (Chief Montgomery ‘Scotty’ Scott)
Look to the future
Human fascination with outer space includes the belief that our civilization might be of interest to some form of life beyond Earth. Also the desire to preserve history through any means. NASA itself has sent songs by The Beatles into space in its efforts to advance the exploration of what lies beyond.
Celestis has stated that all the remains it sends into space will serve “as a beacon to ‘others’, a representation of the Earth, its customs and its culture for other possible life forms that may exist in our galaxy.”
He argues that the mission is even more important if one considers that there is a discussion about the possibility of humans establishing themselves in deep space in the future.
“The DNA of presidents can tell future civilizations that may settle in deep space more about missing leaders and culture, even providing a kind of evolutionary ‘map’ for how the United States began and flourished.”
No one knows what can happen on or off Earth, but anything is possible.
POINT OF VIEW
“There has always been the desire to communicate”
Alvaro Mejia
President of the Association for Earth and Space Research Pedro Paulet
Human beings have always been curious and have wanted to know what lies beyond. And that has been the same with respect to space. When NASA’s Apollo program already existed, in the 60s, Wernher von Braun, who was the manager of man’s arrival on the Moon, was asked why spend money on exploring space. He stressed that we do not know what we can find, but that it is necessary to investigate. From this arise benefits for humanity.
The interest in sending things to space has to do with the idea that there are extraterrestrial civilizations. That is why representations of our culture are sent, even Peruvian musical pieces have been sent to show who we are and what we produce. There has always been that desire to communicate. It is worth asking ourselves what would happen if other civilizations, perhaps more advanced, saw these DNA samples. The options are endless.
The fascination with a kind of space burial is the same that we have with our dead. We wonder why bury or cremate our loved ones. It is likely that behind it lies the belief in transcendence. The human being is complex. We may have a physical limit, but our mind can take us to tons of dimensions. What if life really exists in space? I cannot affirm it, but I do not dare to deny it either.
