American space burial company, Celestis, plans on sending DNA samples of four long-dead US presidents to space.
The company wants to send the genetic information of former US presidents, George Washington, Ronald Reagan, John F. Kennedy, and Dwight D. Eisenhower, into a solar orbit, to become part of the ‘world’s first human outpost in deep space’.
The presidents’ DNA comes from hair samples, which were originally from the Louis Mushro collection, along with the associated Certificates of Authenticity, which were gifted to Celestis by an anonymous donor to be included on a deep space mission.
Louis Mushro was a well-known celebrity hair collector and appraiser and these hair samples have been in a climate-controlled facility for several years in preparation for this mission.
According to Celestis, the idea behind the strange stunt is ‘off-world DNA storage’ that can be discovered by future human civilizations or even possibly alien civilizations.
‘Off-world DNA storage allows the human genome to be preserved for thousands of years in space without degradation. This means it is possible it could be discovered later, like a cosmic “time capsule”,’
The presidents’ DNA will join the cremated remains of several deceased ‘Star Trek’ legends like Nichelle Nichols, DeForest Kelley, ‘Star Trek’ creator Gene Roddenberry.
The symbolic remains will be on board the aerospace firm’s upcoming deep space remembrance Enterprise Flight scheduled for later this year.
The memorial mission will include over 200 flight capsules containing cremated remains, DNA material and personal messages, stored in special capsules inside a United Launch Alliance Vulcan rocket.
Celestis’ first Enterprise Flight is expected to travel from 150 million to 300 million kilometres into deep space, beyond the moon.
The space mission will also be carrying two prototype satellites for Amazon’s internet constellation.
Celestis also offers space burial services where you can send the cremated remains or DNA of your loved ones to the moon and beyond.
A space burial could cost anywhere from $2,995 (£2,491) to $12,995 (£10,812), depending on how far you want to send it and if you want the remains back.
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