Space burial
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Space burial is the launching of human remains into space. Missions may go into orbit around the Earth or to extraterrestrial bodies such as the Moon, or farther into space.
Remains are sealed until the spacecraft burns up upon re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere or they reach their extraterrestrial destinations. Suborbital flights briefly transport them into space then return to Earth where they can be recovered. Small samples of remains are usually launched to minimize the cost of launching mass into space, thereby making such services more affordable.
History and typology
The concept of launching human remains into space using conventional rockets was proposed by the science fiction author Neil R. Jones in the novella "The Jameson Satellite", which was published in the pulp magazine Amazing Stories in 1931.<ref>"The Jameson Satellite" (Amazing Stories, July 1931; Amazing Stories, April 1956 (reprint); Ace Books collection #1, 1967.</ref> It was later proposed as a commercial service in the 1965 movie, The Loved One,<ref>goodgoodbye.com/film-and-video-reviews/funeral-films-the-loved-one/</ref> and by Richard DeGroot in a Seattle Times newspaper article on April 3, 1977.<ref>John Hinterberger: The Seattle Times Sunday Magazine, page 3, April 3, 1977.</ref> Since 1997, the private company Celestis has conducted numerous space burials flying as secondary payloads.<ref name=CelestisFAQ>Template:Cite web</ref>
Maiden flights
The first space burial occurred in 1992 when the NASA Template:OV (mission STS-52) carried a sample of Gene Roddenberry's cremated remains into space and returned them to Earth.<ref name="Shuttle bore Roddenberry's ashes">Template:Cite web</ref>
The first private space burial, Celestis' Earthview 01: The Founders Flight, was launched on April 21, 1997. An aircraft departing from the Canary Islands carried a Pegasus rocket containing samples of the remains of 24 people to an altitude of Template:Cvt above the Atlantic Ocean. The rocket then carried the remains into an elliptical orbit with an apogee of Template:Convert and a perigee of Template:Convert, orbiting the Earth once every 96 minutes until re-entry on May 20, 2002, northeast of Australia. Famous people on this flight included Roddenberry and Timothy Leary.<ref name="CelestisFoundersFlight">Template:Cite web</ref>
Suborbital flights
Short flights that cross the boundary of space without attempting to reach orbital velocity are a cost-effective method of space burial. The remains do not burn up and are either recovered or lost.
Moon burial
The first Moon burial was that of Eugene Merle Shoemaker, a portion of whose cremated remains were flown to the Moon by NASA.<ref name="ESAshes">Template:Cite web</ref> Shoemaker's former colleague Carolyn Porco, a University of Arizona professor, proposed and produced the tribute of having Shoemaker's ashes launched aboard the NASA's Lunar Prospector spacecraft.<ref name="DSPTribute">Template:Cite web</ref> Ten days after Shoemaker's passing, Porco had the go-ahead from NASA administrators and delivered the ashes to the Lunar Prospector Mission Director Scott Hubbard at the NASA Ames Research Center.<ref name="ESAshes" /><ref name="AstronomyMag">Template:Cite news</ref> The ashes were accompanied by a piece of brass foil inscribed with an image of Comet Hale–Bopp, an image of a Meteor Crater in northern Arizona, and a passage from William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.<ref name="ESAshes" /> The Lunar Prospector spacecraft was launched on January 6, 1998, and impacted the south polar region of the Moon on July 31, 1999.<ref name="LunarProspector">Template:Cite web</ref>
Missions to the Moon are proposed by both Elysium Space<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> and Celestis as part of a mission by Astrobotic Technology of Pittsburgh. The first mission in January 2024 failed to reach the Moon due to a failure of the spacecraft and instead reentered Earth's atmosphere shortly after.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Pet burial
In 2014, Celestis launched Celestis Pets, a pet memorial spaceflight service for animal cremated remains.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Prior to then, Bismarck, a Monroe, Washington police dog may have flown on a 2012 memorial spaceflight. When this news broke, Celestis' president said that if dog ashes were on the rocket, the person who supplied the cremated remains likely violated the contract they signed with Celestis.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Dedicated spacecraft
On May 17, 2017, Elysium Space announced the world's first memorial flight involving a dedicated spacecraft. The CubeSat was placed as a secondary payload on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket as part of a dedicated rideshare mission called SSO-A planned by Spaceflight. The launch took place from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on December 3, 2018.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The launch was successful, however, industry sources have noted that the Elysium Star spacecraft remained attached to the deployer due to a failure to procure proper licensing.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Space burial businesses
Space burial businesses generally refer to their service offering as "Memorial Spaceflight".
| Business name | Date established | Operating status | Destinations offered |
|---|---|---|---|
| Celestis | 1994 | Active | Launch to space and return to Earth, into Earth orbit, to lunar surface, into deep space |
| Elysium Space | 2013 | Inactive | Launch into Earth orbit, to lunar surface |
| Space NTK | 2017 | Active | Launch into Earth orbit, to lunar surface |
Spaceflight history
Orbital
| Launch date | Mission provider | Launch vehicle | Destination | Remains samples | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020~ | |||||
| December 21, 2024 | Space NTK | Falcon 9 | Earth orbit | Remains samples<ref name="tokyo">Template:Cite news</ref> | Success |
| May 15, 2022 | Celestis | Falcon 9 | Earth orbit | Remains samples<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Success |
| April 1, 2022 | Space NTK | Falcon 9 | Earth orbit | Remains samples<ref name="toyokeizai">Template:Cite news</ref> | Success |
| 2010-2019 | |||||
| 2018<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Elysium Space | Falcon 9 | Earth orbit | Remains samples | Planned |
| November 3, 2015 | Elysium Space | SPARK | Earth orbit | Remains samples | Failure |
| December 5, 2014 | NASA | Delta IV Heavy | Earth orbit | Remains sample of NASA Orion engineer<ref name="OrionExplorationFlightTest-1">Template:Cite web</ref> | Success |
| May 22, 2012 | Celestis | Falcon 9 | Earth orbit | Over 300 remains samples<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="CelestisNewFrontierFlight">Template:Cite web</ref> | Success |
| 2000-2009 | |||||
| August 2, 2008 | Celestis | Falcon 1 | Earth orbit | Over 200 remains samples<ref name="CelestisExplorersFlight">Template:Cite web</ref> | Failure |
| September 21, 2001 | Celestis | Taurus rocket | Earth orbit | 43 remains samples<ref name="CelestisOdysseyFlight">Template:Cite web</ref> | Failure |
| 1990-1999 | |||||
| December 20, 1999 | Celestis | Taurus rocket | Earth orbit | 36 remains samples<ref name="CelestisMillennialFlight">Template:Cite web</ref> | Success |
| February 10, 1998 | Celestis | Taurus rocket | Earth orbit | 30 remains samples<ref name="CelestisAdAstraFlight">Template:Cite web</ref> | Success |
| April 21, 1997 | Celestis | Pegasus rocket | Earth orbit | 24 remains samples<ref name="CelestisFoundersFlight" /> | Success |
| October 22, 1992 | NASA | Space Shuttle Columbia | Earth orbit | Remains sample of Gene Roddenberry<ref name="Shuttle bore Roddenberry's ashes"/> | Success |
Moon
| Launch Date | Mission Provider | Launch Vehicle | Destination | Remains samples | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010~ | |||||
| 2018<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Elysium Space | Falcon 9 | Lunar surface | Remain samples | Planned |
| Not available<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Celestis | Details not available | Lunar surface | Remain samples | Planned |
| 1990-1999 | |||||
| January 6, 1998 | NASA | Athena II/Lunar Prospector | Lunar surface | Remains sample of Eugene Shoemaker<ref name="ESAshes" /><ref name="LunarProspector" /> | Success |
Deep space
| Launch Date | Mission Provider | Launch Vehicle | Destination | Remains samples | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000~2009 | |||||
| January 19, 2006 | NASA | Atlas V/New Horizons | Deep space | Remains sample of Clyde Tombaugh<ref name="NewHorizons">Template:Cite news</ref> | Success |
Suborbital
| Launch Date | Mission Provider | Launch Vehicle | Remains samples | Results | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010~ | |||||
| October 23, 2014 | Celestis | SpaceLoft XL | 24 remains samples<ref name="CelestisConestogaFlight">Template:Cite web</ref> | Success | |
| June 21, 2013 | Celestis | SpaceLoft XL | 31 remains samples<ref name="CelestisCentennialFlight">Template:Cite web</ref> | Success | |
| May 20, 2011 | Celestis | SpaceLoft XL | Over 8 remains samples<ref name="CelestisGoddardFlight">Template:Cite web</ref> | Success | |
| May 4, 2010 | Celestis | SpaceLoft XL | Over 19 remains samples<ref name="CelestisPioneerFlight">Template:Cite web</ref> | Success | |
| 2000-2009 | |||||
| May 2, 2009 | Celestis | SpaceLoft XL | 16 remains samples<ref name="DiscoveryFlight">Template:Cite web</ref> | Failure | |
| April 28, 2007 | Celestis | SpaceLoft XL | Over 200 remains samples<ref name="LegacyFlight">Template:Cite web</ref> | Success | |
| September 29, 2004 | Scaled Composites | SpaceShipOne | Remains sample of the mother of SpaceShipOne's designer, Burt Rutan.<ref name="SpaceShipOne">Template:Cite web</ref> | Success | |
Notable individuals buried in space
Launched into Earth orbit
- Gene Roddenberry (1921–1991), creator of Star Trek.<ref name="CelestisFoundersFlight"/><ref name="CelestisGeneRoddenberry">Template:Cite web</ref>
- Gerard K. O'Neill (1927–1992), space physicist.<ref name="CelestisFoundersFlight"/><ref name="CelestisGeraldKONeil">Template:Cite web</ref>
- Krafft Ehricke (1917–1984), rocket scientist.<ref name="CelestisFoundersFlight"/><ref name="CelestisKraftEhricke">Template:Cite web</ref>
- Timothy Leary (1920–1996), American writer, psychologist, psychedelic drug advocate and Harvard University professor.<ref name="CelestisFoundersFlight"/><ref name="CelestisTimothyLeary">Template:Cite web</ref>
- James Doohan (1920– 2005), actor best known for his portrayal of Scotty in the television and film series Star Trek.<ref name="CelestisNewFrontierFlight"/><ref name="CelestisJamesDoohanExplorersFlight">Template:Cite web</ref> Celestis also launched him into space in 2007<ref name="CelestisJamesDoohanLegacyFlight">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="LegacyFlight" /> and in 2008.<ref name="CelestisExplorersFlight"/><ref name="CelestisDoohanExplorersFlight">Template:Cite web</ref>
- Leroy Gordon "Gordo" Cooper, Jr. (1927–2004), American astronaut. He was one of the original Mercury Seven pilots in the Project Mercury program, the first crewed space effort by the United States.<ref name="LegacyFlight" />
Launched into outer space
- Nichelle Nichols (1932–2022), American actress best known for her role as Nyota Uhura in the original Star Trek was launched on the maiden flight of the Vulcan Centaur.
- Eugene Merle Shoemaker (1928–1997), astronomer and co-discoverer of Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9.<ref name="CelestisLuna01Flight">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="CelestisEugeneShoemaker">Template:Cite web</ref>
- Clyde Tombaugh (1906–1997), American astronomer and discoverer of Pluto in 1930. A small sample of Tombaugh's ashes are aboard New Horizons, the first spacecraft to pass by and photograph Pluto. This is the first sample of human cremated remains which will escape the Solar System.<ref name="NewHorizons"/>
Planned space burials
- Leiji Matsumoto (1938–2023), Japanese creator of numerous anime and manga series including Galaxy Express 999, Space Battleship Yamato and Space Pirate Captain Harlock, announced his intention to have a symbolic portion of his cremated remains to be launched into space on a future Elysium Space mission.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Majel Barrett (1932–2008), American actress who played Christine Chapel in the original Star Trek series; wife of Gene Roddenberry. A symbolic portion of both her cremated remains and Roddenberry's cremated remains will be launched into space on a future Celestis mission.<ref name="FutureFlightParticipants">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=CelestisRoddenberryFuture>Template:Cite web</ref>
- William R. Pogue (1930–2014), American astronaut.<ref name="FutureFlightParticipants"/><ref name=CelestisPogueFuture>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Luise Clayborn Kaish (1925–2013), American sculptor and painter.<ref name="FutureFlightParticipants" /><ref name="CelestisKaishFuture">Template:Cite web</ref>
Ethics
References
External links
- The Real Elysium – Send Your Loved One Into Space for $2k, PandoDaily, 2013
- Have A Space Burial As Elysium Sends Your Ashes Into Orbit, TechCrunch, 2013
- Ash Scattering: Non-Traditional Ways To Be Memorialized, Huffington Post, 2012
- The Ultimate One-Way Ticket, Wired Magazine, 2006
- Death Is a Long, Strange Trip, Wired Magazine, 2006