After 52 years, the United States once again launched the "return to the moon" mission. According to the manned space program Artemis, the United States aims to send astronauts to the moon by 2024 and return them safely, and also prepare for future missions to Mars. Although the mission has been pushed back again and again, on January 8, the "Peregrine" lunar lander equipped with the "Vulcan Centaur" rocket took the lead in launching the moon landing mission. The rocket was launched from Florida and is expected to reach the lunar surface on February 23.
But this trip, which carried human and pet ashes, was controversial even before it started.
As we all know, this space mission is of great significance to the United States.
Because this is the first space mission in the United States' "return to the moon" plan since the Apollo 17 moon landing in December 1972, and this is the first time a private company has undertaken a space mission. The Peregrine lunar lander was developed by a private company called Astrobotic Technology.
According to reports, during this mission,The lunar lander carried five pieces of scientific equipment from NASA, five robots from the Mexican Space Agency, a physical Bitcoin, and some prepared souvenirs, including stones from Mount Everest, photos, etc.
In addition, it is also controversial. This time alsoIt carried the ashes of 95 people and one dog, as well as DNA samples from multiple people.
The Navajo people, the largest Indian tribe in the United States, are very dissatisfied with this. Like many other indigenous peoples, they believe that the moon is sacred. In their eyes, sending human ashes to the moon is a sacrilegious act.
Most importantly, the Navajo Nation believesNASA went back on its word and failed to keep its original promise.
space funeral
Sending ashes into space is a commercial activity called "space funeral".
During this trip, two American companies, Celestis and ElysiumSpace, transported body tissue to the moon.
ElysiumSpace does not provide customer details on its website, according to the associated image.The company transported human samples from 25 people;
Celestis announced detailed information on its official website. A spokesperson for the company said:
There were 70 people and 1 dog participating in the space funeral., these are the ashes after cremation. In addition, there are some DNA samples from living people on the ship.
Many celebrities participated in the space funeral, including the famous science fiction writer Arthur C. Clark, "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry (the first person to be buried in space) and his wife Majer, as well as NASA geologist Maretta West.
Others are enthusiasts of space travel, astronomy, and science fiction.
They paid to participate in Celestis' lunar landing service, starting at $12,995, and they had planned it long in advance.
For many people, a space funeral is a very new funeral mode, but this project has been running for many years. The first space funeral took place in 1992. After NASA's Columbia carried Gene Roddenberry's ashes into space, he brought them back to Earth for a space trip.
I also popularized science about space funerals a few years ago. There are actually several types of projects. Please refer to the official website of Celestis:
At first glance, the project quotation is not very high, and it is completely different from the space flight in our impression. However, in fact, this is the lowest price for 1g of ashes.
After the human body is cremated, the ashes weigh an average of 2.4 kilograms, which is almost 2400g. In other words, only 1/2400 of the ashes can go to heaven.
The ashes will be placed in a device similar to lipstick and then sent to heaven. As for which part of the body can participate in space travel, it can only depend on luck.
If your financial strength allows and you need to increase the weight of the ashes, you can add money based on the weight. Celestis also has a 3G shipping service.
According to Wikipedia records, Celestis has successfully conducted many space funerals since 1997, the most of which are Earth orbit projects.
There is currently only one person who has actually sent ashes to the moon, and that is scientist Eugene Shoemaker. In 1998, NASA's Lunar Prospector sent his ashes to the lunar surface.
Navajo Chief Albert Hale learned of the incident a few days after the mission was launched, and also raised objections on the grounds of "desecration of the moon." At that time,NASA also apologized and promised to consult with indigenous peoples if the agency considers sending ashes to the moon again.
As a result, before the launch, on December 21, 2023, Navajo Chief Buu Nygren wrote to NASA requesting that the ashes launch be postponed.
However, NASA stated that this flightIt is not NASA's mission, it is the commercial activities of private companies, and they have no right to require private companies to comply.
The controversial Celestis company also said: We do not think this is a blasphemous act. On the contrary, everyone involved in this project believes that this is a carefully prepared commemorative event with a meaning that is completely opposite to blasphemous. Moreover, the ashes were not placed directly on the lunar surface, but were encapsulated in the lunar lander.
at last
This time around the U.S. moon landing mission, the controversy was not just a space funeral, more people questioned its capabilities.
"The United States has never put a man on the moon, and it was wrong to prevent Russia from landing on the moon and claiming rights to the moon during the space race, but Russia is not interested in landing on the moon. Instead, they..."
"This is nonsense, we still don't have the technology to put a man on the moon. And there are some fools out there who think the US did it back in 1969!"
"Read that right? Landing on the moon on February 23rd??? I'm sure I remember that the Apollo missions took three days to reach the moon, not six weeks. Why is it taking so long this time?"
"IsThereABetterWayToHonorYourDogThanLitteringTheMoon?"
“Is there a better way to honor your dog than by littering the moon?”
Regardless of the controversy, the trip to the moon has already begun.
According to the latest news, the original plan to land on the moon on February 23 is no longer possible.
Due to fuel leakage in the propulsion system, the lander will lose control and eventually lose power within 40 hours. In the words of the team, the current goal is"As close as possible to the moon".
At the same time, NASA has also postponed the planned lunar landing mission of Artemis to September 2026 (originally scheduled for 2025).
Fortunately, those who participated in the space funeral, and in accordance with the service rules, failed this time, can still enjoy the next trip to the moon for free.