I’m not a fan of this idea:
SF-based company Elysium Space launched the remains of more than 100 deceased humans into space yesterday via the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The ashy remains were packed into a 4-inch square satellite called a cubesat. For the approximate $2500 charge, loved ones can track the cube via satellite for about four years, before the cubesat falls back to earth.
In 1998, a small vial of astronomer Eugene Shoemaker’s ashes crashed into the moon as part of NASA’s Lunar Prospector mission and remains on the surface.
And the ashes of “Star Trek” actor James Doohan, who played “Scotty” on the show, were sent to space among 320 sets of ashes on a mission similar to Elysium’s in 2012. Mercury 7 astronaut Gordon Cooper’s ashes were on board that flight as well.
And more junk just keeps going. This week, SpaceX launched 64 satellites in one go .
Humans have already badly polluted their own planet. There’s a plethora of space junk and satellites orbiting around, approximately 30,000 pieces. Do we really need to encourage more crap joining the junk pile? We can’t even clean up the mess we’ve dumped into our oceans. Who is going to clean up the junk floating in space?
Thank you for reading today's post. Have an InterStellar Day! ~PrP
