Fly to space for burial, choose from three burial modes, and a special 14-gram columbarium container is launched into deep space nearly 300 million kilometers above the earth's surface.
Space burial has gradually become the burial mode chosen by many people, and even the phenomenon of early booking has appeared, and what is even more incredible is that it has become a complete industrial chain, and it has been approved by the U.S. federal government.
So, what kind of process is this "space burial"? Is the "space funeral" worth it or not?
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"Ashes in the Sky"
The evolution of the funeral model has changed one after another with the development of the times, but this new funeral model of "ashes on space" still makes many people sound particularly incredible.
Naturally, some people are unbelievable and some people are happy, especially the "cosmic fans" group.
On January 2, a U.S. memorial airline called Celistis decided to launch the ashes of 250 deceased people into the sky on January 8.
As a result, these people fulfilled their long-cherished wish to travel to space after death, and one of them, Gloria Nolan, an elderly Canadian, signed a contract with this company as early as his death in order to be one of them, and spent $12,500.
And this old man is nothing else, just because he is a deep space fan, and his favorite is the movie "Star Trek" that has attracted global attention.
Because of his deep love for space, in Gloria's view, it is a complete life for his ashes to be sent to space, and he will give up like this for a lifetime, so even if it is $12,500, Gloria is willing to pay.
And this company, which sounds especially suspicious, has been profitable for many years, to be precise, the business is not as bad as imagined, and the audience is still quite large.
As early as 1997, the company started the business of "sending ashes from space", and according to its representative, it was also because some people chose to send ashes into space, so the company launched a lot of complete "funeral services".
This company uses a special columbarium container, which can contain up to 14 grams of ashes, and the owners of general services basically provide a small amount of ashes or DNA samples from the deceased, which is naturally inseparable from space.
Therefore, compared with the conventional "ground burial", this "space funeral" is also a bit novel, and it is not surprising that the Celestial company has been conducting space services since 1997.
So far, it has completed at least 16 "space funeral" services.
In fact, it is not entirely impossible to say that it was not completely affected by Star Trek, and the spacecraft "Enterprise", which will send 250 deceased people into space on January 8, has the same name as the skyship in "Star Trek".
Naturally, it's not uncommon to attract space-loving customers to a certain extent.
In order to give a great experience, Celestis has launched three selection modes.
The main purpose of bringing a container containing ashes or DNA samples into space and then bringing it to Earth, and then handing it over to the family of the deceased, is to complete the space tour, and the purpose is to focus on a dream journey.
The other is to put the container into the Earth's orbit, or to the lunar orbit or the lunar surface.
In short, no matter which one it is, it is a particularly attractive existence for "space fans".
And the reason why the owner of the Celestis company launched such a funeral model is the same vision.
"We offer commemorative space tours for those who love space, science fiction, high technology, or who are looking for a unique way to commemorate it. ”
These are permitted by the U.S. federal government and are in accordance with international law.
In other words, whether "space funeral" will become popular in the future has become a "new type of funeral" method that is difficult to estimate.
So if the "space funeral" really becomes popular, whether it is worth it or not and whether it is reliable will become the main problem.
Is "space burial" reliable?
Not to mention that foreign countries have become a popular trend of "funeral", and in China it is still a collision of "new and old ideas".
In fact, there is not no such company in the mainland, but the attention it has attracted is still more than the service itself.
As Wang Yanan, editor-in-chief of "Aviation Knowledge", once said, the concept of "space burial" is not new, but if it is pushed to the forefront of the commercial stage and exposed to the public, it is a new thing.
After all, it is still a "clash of ideas".
As early as 2015, there was a funeral e-commerce platform called "The Other Side" in China that introduced space funerals, even though some people were curious, but it was always the "conflict of concepts" that made the company that promoted "space funerals" until it closed and did not open a single business.
In 2021, an aerospace technology company in Beijing began to implement a "space funeral" service.
Its main projects are digital star burial and physical star burial, and the price is also different. The digital star burial is to send electronic photos, videos, etc. to space, and the price starts at about 666 yuan.
The other "real star burial" can be loaded into a satellite and launched into space, and the photos or relics of the deceased can be loaded into it and sent into space through a carrier rocket.
In addition, a mini-program will be launched to know the location in real time, and you can also make wishes to deceased relatives and friends.
Naturally, this price will be different according to the size of the star box, providing three different price points, including 50,000, 100,000, 300,000 and so on.
And in March 2022, the company released the first physical souvenirs loaded with nearly 50 users into space.
As for whether it will become space junk, the company's representative said that in fact, whether it is before the launch of the satellite or the orbit will be strictly reviewed by the relevant agencies, if it can be passed, the launch permit will be issued, and bluntly said that it is only the traditional metal counterweight module replaced by the user's sent items, which will not produce space junk and affect the normal operation of the satellite.
However, being able to send ashes into the sky has not yet become a popular existence. But it is foreseeable that the development of "space funeral" will still take a long way to go.
In short, no matter whether the "space funeral" is currently popular or not, there will be a market if there is a demand.
So whether this "space funeral" is worth it or not, whether it is reliable or not, there are a thousand Hamlets in a thousand people, even if some people are happy about it, some people think it is incredible.
But if someone like Gloria is a space fan, choosing a "space funeral" just to fulfill their life's long-cherished wish, then respect is good, after all, people have a short life, and it is a lifetime, and it is best to choose the most comfortable way for yourself.
Resources:
Taking the sky as a grave: "space burial" is gradually emerging, and rockets take off with ashes-China News Network
Space burial: The ashes of the deceased will be sent to space from 50,000 yuan, and they can still be tracked by satellites, is it reliable?—— Red Star News
"Space funeral" goes to deep space - Xinhua News Agency