An American company plans to transport cremated human remains to the moon in a few weeks. But the practice has sparked outrage among the Navajo Native Americans, who consider it a desecration of a sacred site. The dispute, according to AFP, illustrates the debate over the use of the moon for private interests at a time when Earth’s natural satellite has come back into the limelight after decades of decline.
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13:46 January 7, 2024 Share on Facebook
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Members of the Navajo tribe protest against the placement of human remains on the moon (illustrative photo) | Photo: René Volfík | Source: iROZHLAS.cz
The moon “is part of our spiritual heritage, an object of reverence and respect” and holds a “sacred place in many American Indian cultures,” wrote Buu Nygren, chairman of the Navajo Nation reservation, the largest Native American territory in the United States.
In a letter addressed to the US Department of Transportation and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) from the end of December, he asked to postpone the launch.
Astrobotic’s controversial Peregrine lunar module is scheduled to launch on January 8 from Cape Canaveral, Florida. It will be launched into space by the Vulcan launch vehicle of the United Launch Alliance. The moon landing is scheduled for February 23.
The remains of 69 people
On board, in addition to a number of scientific equipment, are the cargoes of Celestis and Elysium Space, which specialize in sending cremated human remains into space. Celestis confirmed to AFP that there would be “symbolic DNA elements and/or cremated remains of 69 people” on board the lunar module.
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Among others, the creator of the space cult series Star Trek Gene Roddenberry is on the list, but according to the company’s website, his remains, along with the remains of some actors of the popular series, will go into deep space.
But also science fiction writer, pioneer and author of the novel 2001: A Space Odyssey Arthur C. Clarke, who is supposed to rest on the moon.
The payload will not be stored on the surface, but will remain in the lunar module, according to Astrobotic. It added that it complies with “all regulations and laws for commercial activities outside Earth orbit.”
“No culture or religion should have veto power over space missions,” Celestis said in a statement. According to the company, this mission is “the very opposite of desecration, a celebration.”
‘Keep your word’
The Navajo tribe expressed their displeasure already at the turn of the millennium, when a NASA probe with the ashes of geologist Eugene Shoemaker deliberately crashed into the moon. “NASA has apologized and promised to consult with indigenous tribes before allowing any further lunar missions with human remains,” Nygren noted in the letter. However, the authority appears to have “not kept its word”, he added.
A senior NASA official, Joel Kearns, assured the agency that the agency was taking indigenous concerns “very seriously,” according to AFP. At a press conference, he announced the holding of an intergovernmental meeting with representatives of the Navajo tribe. At the same time, he pointed out that NASA does not have the authority to oversee the costs of private missions.
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2024-01-07 12:46:00
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