The general public may soon have the chance to rest in peace
on the moon, at least briefly. Houston-based Celestis, Inc. has announced
plans to launch cremated human remains to the surface of the moon as soon as
2009.
A small portion — 1 gram — of the
encapsulated cremated remains
of one person can be sent
to the moon for $9,995. The price includes the option of watching
the launch, an inscription of the deceased's name on an accompanying plaque,
and complimentary scattering of the remainder of the remains at sea near the
launch site.
For $29,985, Celestis will launch 14 grams total of the
cremated remains of two people together.
These prices do not include cremation, which can generally
cost about $2,000, said Doug Sholette, funeral director of the Frary
Funeral Home in Ogdensburg, N.Y. For comparison, coffin burials on Earth usually
cost at least $5,000, Sholette said.
One gram of cremated remains is less than 1 percent of the
average person's remains, which usually
weigh 3 to 5 pounds, Sholette said.
When Celestis sends a person's ashes to the moon, they stay within a capsule in a spacecraft on the lunar surface forever,
and are not dispersed.
"We are pleased to schedule these
Luna Service missions, to extend our leadership in the commercial space
industry, and — most importantly — to serve our global community of families
and loved ones wishing to honor the life of a special person," said Charles M.
Chafer, Celestis founder and president.
Celestis has partnered with Odyssey Moon
Limited and Astrobotic Technology, Inc., which will do the actual transporting
of the remains to the moon.
Future customers won't be the first people
to have their remains spread on the moon. In 1998, Celestis, at the request of
NASA, provided a Luna Flight Capsule to the family and friends of the late
legendary astronomer and planetary geologist Eugene Shoemaker. The Celestis
Flight Capsule, containing a symbolic portion of Shoemaker's cremated remains,
was attached to NASA's Lunar Prospector spacecraft
and launched on a one-year mission orbiting the moon.
On July 31, 1999, at the completion of Lunar Prospector's mission, the spacecraft was intentionally crashed into the
moon's south pole, making Shoemaker the first human to be laid to rest on
another celestial body. NASA called the memorial "a special honor for a special
human being."
Since 1997, Celestis has been sending
human remains into Earth orbit. The company conducted six memorial spaceflights
for people from 14 nations, including "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry, Mercury astronaut Gordon Cooper and
"Star
Trek" actor James
Doohan ("Scotty"). The next Celestis mission, set for June 2008,
will send the remains of 205 participants to Earth orbit aboard a Falcon 1
rocket.
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