Sending and burying human ashes on the moon called disrespectful

According to critics, the Earth's satellite should not become a cemetery

Philosopher Rene Descartes believed that souls move to craters on the Moon named after them. The private company Celestis wants to send ashes to the Earth's satellite for only 13 thousand dollars. Many were critical of this method of burial.

Photo: freepik.com

A private lunar module carrying the remains of a dog and 70 people did not reach the Moon in January 2024 as originally planned. Once it became known that the commercial lander was carrying human remains, objections arose, especially from the Navajo Indian people. They, along with other cultures, consider the Moon sacred.

The new attempt to bury urns with ashes repeated the events of the 1990s, when an official NASA spacecraft delivered the remains of astrogeology pioneer Eugene Shoemaker.

NASA then apologized for the incident and promised to consult on such issues in the future. That did not happen. After the crash of the Sapsan lander, created by Astrobotic, the controversy resumed.

The Moon is governed by an international treaty and, more importantly, is an extremely important symbol of humanity and a scientific archive. Despite the private nature of these missions, they are conducted under a government program called CLPS — the Commercial Lunar Payload Services Program.

Scientist Alvin Harvey believes that “bringing together local and Western science can help solve problems and lead to policies and innovative approaches that protect and celebrate our shared Moon. After all, don't we all want to be good relatives?

The Navajo people make a strong argument that the Moon, as something sacred in their worldview, should not be a burial site.

But the Moon is more than just a place of worship in an area. It belongs to no one, and although the Outer Space Treaty does not directly prohibit the disposal of remains, there has been an international conversation about respect for the Moon and sustainable use of the Moon at least since water ice was discovered in the dark craters of the Moon's south pole.

Celestis CEO Charles Chafer said: “Frankly, while we respect everyone's beliefs, we do not find the Navajo's concerns compelling. Of course, without having in mind its final results. I wonder what the more than 30 international organizations that signed the NASA Artemis Agreement think about the issue of cremated remains.”

There is a cautionary reason to prohibit cremation because of what may follow:

“If we can send dead people to the moon in small capsules, why not create a lunar cemetery? Lunar Mausoleum? If we can do this without consulting all the stakeholders who care about these issues, then why not just do whatever we want there? After all, what is the threshold for inadmissibility of private activities on the Moon? What about advertising on the Moon, which is visible from the Earth?” — critics of the idea of ​​burials on the satellite of our planet spoke out.