Moon lander carrying human remains to burn in Earth atmosphere after failed moonshot

The remains and DNA of nearly 70 people are expected to burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere after a failed mission to the moon, officials say.

The ashes and DNA are loaded into capsules on board a lunar lander launched into space Jan. 8 by Pennsylvania-based Astrobotics Technology, according to Celestis, a company specializing in outer space burial and memorial services.

The DNA of renowned science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke is among those capsules.

Celestis paid to have the remains and DNA capsules on Astrobotic’s lunar lander, dubbed Peregrine, according to Astrobotics.

How does that work?

“The Celestis memorial capsules carrying cremated remains and DNA will remain on the lunar surface as a permanent tribute to the intrepid souls who never stopped reaching for the stars,” the Celestis website says.

The plan drew objections from Navajo Nation leaders, who called the act of burying human remains on the moon “sacrilege” and a “desecration of this sacred space,” according to a December news release.

But Astrobotic’s moonshot went wrong, and now the remains won’t rest forever on its surface, or anywhere else for that matter.

Astrobotic hoped its Peregrine mission would be a landmark achievement, putting the first commercial lunar lander on the moon’s surface, according to a company news release.

Everything seemed to be going smoothly following a successful launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida, until the Astrobotics team noticed an “anomaly … which prevented Astrobotic from achieving a stable sun-pointing orientation,” the company said.

The problem was more than a hiccup, the team discovered: There was a serious problem with the lander’s propulsion system, causing it to leak propellant, according to the company. Their goal of touching down on the lunar surface had failed.

After consulting with NASA experts, Astrobotics determined the best course of action would be to allow the lander to fly into the earth’s atmosphere and burn, rather than risk losing control of it in space where it could endanger satellites or simply become another piece of space junk.

“We have made the difficult decision to maintain the current spacecraft’s trajectory to re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere,” the company said in a Jan. 14 news release. “By responsibly ending Peregrine’s mission, we are doing our part to preserve the future of cislunar space for all.”

The craft is expected to enter the atmosphere on Jan. 18 and shouldn’t pose any danger, the company said.

Astrobotics’ mission was a collaborative effort, with businesses and agencies from multiple countries paying to have experiments and other items flown to the moon, the Associated Press reported.

NASA invested $100 million into the Peregrine mission — part of a larger effort by the agency to use private companies to continue its own lunar research, according to the outlet.

This story was originally published January 16, 2024 at 2:32 PM with the headline "Moon lander carrying human remains to burn in Earth atmosphere after failed moonshot."