space burial
{{Short description|Launching of cremated human remains into space}}
{{Distinguish|Sky burial (disambiguation)}}
{{Redirect|Space funeral|the video game|Space Funeral}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2014}}
File:Thunderstorms over the Pacific seen from Earth orbit on STS-64.jpg 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."The Jameson Satellite" (Amazing Stories, July 1931; Amazing Stories, April 1956 (reprint); Ace Books collection #1, 1967. It was later proposed as a commercial service in the 1965 movie, The Loved One,goodgoodbye.com/film-and-video-reviews/funeral-films-the-loved-one/ and by Richard DeGroot in a The Seattle Times newspaper article on April 3, 1977.John Hinterberger: The Seattle Times Sunday Magazine, page 3, April 3, 1977. Since 1997, the private company Celestis has conducted numerous space burials flying as secondary payloads.{{cite web|title=Celetis Launch Manifest |url=http://celestis.com/manifest.asp |publisher=CelestisInc |access-date=March 14, 2014}}
File:Space shuttle enterprise star trek-cropcast.jpg at the Rockwell International plant at Palmdale, California, US]]
= Maiden flights =
The first space burial occurred in 1992 when the NASA {{OV|102|full=nolink}} (mission STS-52) carried a sample of Gene Roddenberry's cremated remains into space and returned them to Earth.{{Cite web |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=348&dat=19940429&id=bUMvAAAAIBAJ&pg=1725,8689414 |title=Shuttle bore Roddenberry's ashes |publisher=Rome News-Tribune|date=April 29, 1994 |access-date=March 13, 2014}}
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 {{Cvt|11|km}} above the Atlantic Ocean. The rocket then carried the remains into an elliptical orbit with an apogee of {{convert|578|km|mi|abbr=on}} and a perigee of {{convert|551|km|mi|abbr=on}}, 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.{{cite web |title=Celestis Memorial Spaceflights – The Founders Flight |url=http://celestis.com/foundersFlight.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140315011433/http://celestis.com/foundersFlight.asp |archive-date=March 15, 2014 |access-date=March 14, 2014 |publisher=CelestisInc}}
= 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.{{cite web |last=Stiles |first=Lorie |date=January 6, 1998 |title=Eugene Shoemaker Ashes Carried on Lunar Prospector |url=http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/sl9/news82.html |access-date=August 6, 2015 |publisher=University of Arizona News Services}} 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.{{cite web|last=Porco|first=Carolyn|title=The Eugene M. Shoemaker Tribute|url=http://ciclops.org/public/tribute.html|publisher=Diamond Sky Productions|access-date=June 8, 2013}} 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.{{cite news |last=Porco |first=Carolyn C. |date=February 2000 |title=Destination Moon |newspaper=Astronomy |url=http://www.astronomy.com/~/media/Files/PDF/Magazine%20articles/Destination%20Moon.ashx |access-date=June 8, 2013 |quote=The next day, I drove to Phoenix for a flight to Ames Research Center in California, where the following day, a Monday, I delivered the whole package to Scott Hubbard.}} 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. The Lunar Prospector spacecraft was launched on January 6, 1998, and impacted the south polar region of the Moon on July 31, 1999.{{cite web|last=Williams|first=David|title=Lunar Prospector|url=http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunarprosp.html|publisher=NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center|access-date=August 6, 2015}}
Missions to the Moon are proposed by both Elysium Space{{Cite magazine |last=Clark |first=Liat |date=August 12, 2015 |title=This startup will send your loved one's ashes to the Moon |url=https://www.wired.co.uk/article/elysium-space-lunar-memorial-service |magazine=WIRED UK |language=en-GB |access-date=2017-05-22}} 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.{{Cite news|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-01-19/peregrine-moon-lander-astrobotic-burned-up-re-entry-australia/103368240|lang=en|title=US company's failed Peregrine Moon lander believed to have burned up after re-entry over Australia|newspaper=ABC News|date=January 19, 2024 |accessdate=2024-01-19}}
= Pet burial =
In 2014, Celestis launched Celestis Pets, a pet memorial spaceflight service for animal cremated remains.{{cite web |title=Home |url=http://www.celestispets.com/ |website=Celestis Pets}} 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.{{cite news|url=http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20120524/NEWS01/705249808|title=Dog's ashes may have been sneaked on to space flight|author=Rikki King|work=Everett Herald|date=May 24, 2012|access-date=2012-06-02}}
= 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.{{Cite web |last=Clark |first=Stephen |date=December 3, 2018 |title=SpaceX launches swarm of satellites, flies rocket for third time |url=https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/12/03/spacex-launches-swarm-of-satellites-re-flies-rocket-for-third-time/ |website=Spaceflight Now}} 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.{{Cite web |last=Foust |first=Jeff |date=August 23, 2019 |title=Spaceflight herded 64 cubesats onto a single Falcon 9 and has the scratch marks to prove it |url=https://spacenews.com/spaceflight-herded-64-cubesats-onto-a-single-falcon-9-it-has-the-scratch-marks-to-prove-it/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230227011952/https://spacenews.com/spaceflight-herded-64-cubesats-onto-a-single-falcon-9-it-has-the-scratch-marks-to-prove-it/ |archive-date=Feb 27, 2023 |website=SpaceNews}}
Space burial businesses
Space burial businesses generally refer to their service offering as "Memorial Spaceflight".
| class="wikitable sortable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto;" width="95%" |
| style="width:15%;"|Business name
! style="width:15%;"|Date established ! style="width:15%;"|Operating status ! style="width: 55%;"|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 =
= Moon =
| class="wikitable sortable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto;" width="95%" |
| style="width:15%;" |Launch Date
! style="width:15%;" |Mission Provider ! style="width:15%;" |Launch Vehicle ! style="width:15%;" |Destination ! style="width:25%;" |Remains samples ! style="width:15%;" |Results |
|---|
| colspan="6" |2010~ |
| style="text-align:right" | 2018{{Cite web |title=Launch Schedule |url=http://elysiumspace.com/launch-schedule/ |access-date=2017-05-22 |website=Elysium Space |language=en-US}}
|Remain samples |Planned |
| style="text-align:right" | Not available{{Cite web |title=Luna 02 Flight {{!}} Memorial Spaceflights |url=https://www.celestis.com/launch-schedule/luna-02-flight/ |access-date=2017-05-22 |website=Celestis |language=en}}
|Celestis |Details not available |Remain samples |Planned |
| colspan="6" |1990-1999 |
| style="text-align:right" | January 6, 1998
|NASA |Remains sample of Eugene Shoemaker |Success |
= Deep space =
| class="wikitable sortable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto;" width="95%" |
| style="width:15%;" |Launch Date
! style="width:15%;" |Mission Provider ! style="width:15%;" |Launch Vehicle ! style="width:15%;" |Destination ! style="width:25%;" |Remains samples ! style="width:15%;" |Results |
|---|
| colspan="6" | 2000~2009 |
| style="text-align:right" | January 19, 2006
|NASA |Remains sample of Clyde Tombaugh{{cite news |last1=Leary |first1=Warren E. |date=January 20, 2006 |title=NASA Launches Spacecraft on the First Mission to Pluto – New York Times |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/20/science/space/20pluto.html?_r=0 |url-access=limited |access-date=March 14, 2014}} |Success |
=Suborbital=
| class="wikitable sortable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto;" width="95%" |
| style="width:20%;"|Launch Date
! style="width:20%;"|Mission Provider ! style="width:20%;"|Launch Vehicle ! style="width:20%;"|Remains samples ! style="width:20%;"|Results |
|---|
| colspan="5" |2010~ |
| style="text-align:right" | October 23, 2014
| Celestis |Success |
| style="text-align:right" | June 21, 2013
| Celestis | Success |
| style="text-align:right" | May 20, 2011
| Celestis |Success |
| style="text-align:right" | May 4, 2010
| Celestis | Success |
| colspan="6" |2000-2009 |
| style="text-align:right" | May 2, 2009
| Celestis | 16 remains samples{{cite web |title=The Discovery Flight |url=http://www.celestis.com/discoveryFlight.asp |access-date=March 13, 2014 |publisher=Celestis}} | Failure |
| style="text-align:right" | April 28, 2007
| Celestis |Over 200 remains samples{{cite web |title=Legacy Flight |url=http://www.celestis.com/legacyFlight.asp |access-date=March 13, 2014 |publisher=Celestis Memorial Spaceflights}} | Success |
| style="text-align:right" | September 29, 2004
| Remains sample of the mother of SpaceShipOne's designer, Burt Rutan.{{cite web |last=Harwood |first=William |date=September 29, 2004 |title=SpaceShipOne takes wild suborbital flight |url=http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ss1/040929x1launch.html |access-date=April 1, 2015 |publisher=Spaceflight Now |quote=At the post-flight news conference, Rutan revealed his mother's ashes were on board SpaceShipOne "and I was very very proud to have carried her," Melvill said.}} | Success |
Notable individuals buried in space
file:Doohan James NASA 19670413.jpg with pilot Bruce Peterson April 13, 1967 in front of the Northrop M2-F2.]]
= Launched into Earth orbit =
- Gene Roddenberry (1921–1991), creator of Star Trek.{{cite web |title=Gene Roddenberry & Majel Roddenberry |url=http://www.celestis.com/memorial/founders/roddenberry.asp |access-date=March 14, 2014 |publisher=Celestis}}
- Gerard K. O'Neill (1927–1992), space physicist.{{cite web |title=Gerald K. O'Neil – Participant on board The Founders Flight |url=http://www.celestis.com/memorial/founders/oneil.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140315015024/http://www.celestis.com/memorial/founders/oneil.asp |archive-date=March 15, 2014 |access-date=March 14, 2014 |publisher=Celestis}}
- Krafft Ehricke (1917–1984), rocket scientist.{{cite web |title=Krafft A. Ehricke |url=http://www.celestis.com/memorial/founders/ehricke.asp |access-date=March 14, 2014 |publisher=Celestis}}
- Timothy Leary (1920–1996), American writer, psychologist, psychedelic drug advocate and Harvard University professor.{{cite web |title=Timothy Francis Leary |url=http://www.celestis.com/memorial/founders/leary.asp |access-date=March 14, 2014 |publisher=Celestis}}
- James Doohan (1920– 2005), actor best known for his portrayal of Scotty in the television and film series Star Trek.{{cite web |title=James Doohan |url=http://www.celestis.com/memorial/newfrontier/doohan.asp |access-date=March 14, 2014 |publisher=Celestis}} Celestis also launched him into space in 2007{{cite web |title=Tribute to Jimmy |url=https://www.celestis.com/blog/tribute-to-jimmy/ |access-date=March 14, 2014 |publisher=Celestis}} and in 2008.{{cite web |title=Doohan |url=http://www.celestis.com/memorial/explorers/doohan.asp |access-date=March 14, 2014 |publisher=Celestis}}
- 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.
= 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.{{cite web |title=Luna Flight 01 |url=https://celestis.com/participants-testimonials/eugene-shoemaker |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140314165835/celestis.com/luna01Flight.asp |archive-date=March 14, 2014 |access-date=March 14, 2014 |publisher=Celestis}}{{cite web |title=Luna 01 Flight |url=http://www.celestis.com/memorial/luna01/lunar01.asp |access-date=March 14, 2014 |publisher=Celestis}}
- 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.
= 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.{{Cite web |title=流れ星供養 |url=http://elysiumspace.com/ja/product/shooting-star-memorial-jp/ |website=Elysium Space |language=Japanese}}
File:Leiji_Matsumoto_-_Salon_du_Livre_Gen%C3%A8ve,_3rd_May_2014_3_-_cropped.jpg
- 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.{{cite web |title=Participants in Future Flights |url=http://www.celestis.com/memorial/future/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150521041331/http://www.celestis.com/memorial/future/ |archive-date=May 21, 2015 |access-date=May 19, 2015 |publisher=Celestis}}{{cite web|title=Gene & Majel Roddenberry - Participants on board a Future Celestis Memorial Spaceflight | url = http://www.celestis.com/memorial/future/roddenberry.asp |publisher=CelestisInc |access-date=May 19, 2015}}
- William R. Pogue (1930–2014), American astronaut.{{cite web|title=William Reid Pogue - Participant on board a Future Celestis Memorial Spaceflight | url = http://www.celestis.com/memorial/future/pogue.asp |publisher=CelestisInc |access-date=May 19, 2015}}
- Luise Clayborn Kaish (1925–2013), American sculptor and painter.{{cite web|title=Luise Clayborn Kaish - Participant on board a Future Celestis Memorial Spaceflight | url = http://www.celestis.com/memorial/future/kaish.asp |publisher=CelestisInc |access-date=May 19, 2015}}
Ethics
{{main|space ethics#Space burial}}
References
{{reflist|30em}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20220929104519/https://pandodaily.com/2013/08/09/the-real-elysium-send-your-dead-loved-one-into-space-for-2k The Real Elysium – Send Your Loved One Into Space for $2k], PandoDaily, 2013
- [https://techcrunch.com/2013/08/09/elysium/ Have A Space Burial As Elysium Sends Your Ashes Into Orbit], TechCrunch, 2013
- [http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/05/25/ash-scattering_n_1545627.html Ash Scattering: Non-Traditional Ways To Be Memorialized], Huffington Post, 2012
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20070318181115/http://www.wired.com:80/news/technology/0,70252-0.html?tw=wn_index_7 The Ultimate One-Way Ticket], Wired Magazine, 2006
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20121022134940/http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2006/11/72065 Death Is a Long, Strange Trip], Wired Magazine, 2006
{{In space}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Space Burial}}