United Launch Alliance's Vulcan rocket undergoes testing at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The rocket is scheduled to launch Monday, Jan. 8, 2024.
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The Navajo Nation is condemning a Houston company’s plans to send cremated remains to the moon next week, claiming it’s “tantamount to desecration of this sacred space.”
Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren would like to delay Monday’s launch as it includes a lunar lander that’s carrying cremated remains collected by Houston-based Celestis and San Francisco-based Elysium Space.
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“It is crucial to emphasize that the moon holds a sacred position in many indigenous cultures, including ours,” Nygren wrote in a Dec. 21 letter sent to NASA and the Department of Transportation. “We view it as a part of our spiritual heritage, an object of reverence and respect.”
Celestis’ CEO and co-founder Charles M. Chafer said the company’s clients consider the mission “an appropriate celebration – the polar opposite of desecration.”
He also said religion is not considered when approving space missions.
“No one, and no religion, owns the moon,” Chafer said in a statement, “and were the beliefs of the world’s multitude of religions considered it’s quite likely that no missions would ever be approved. Simply we do not and never have let religious beliefs dictate humanity’s space efforts - there is not and should not be a religious test.”
Elysium Space could not immediately be reached for comment.
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This isn’t the first time that the Navajo Nation has objected to putting cremated remains on the moon. Nygren said the issue arose in the late ‘90s when NASA sent the Lunar Prospector probe to orbit the moon. The probe crashed into the lunar surface at the end of its life, carrying the cremated remains of planetary geologist Dr. Eugene Shoemaker. Celestis provided those remains.
According to Nygren’s letter, NASA apologized and promised to consult tribes before authorizing future missions that send human remains to the moon. Nygren argued that NASA did not uphold the commitment.
NASA is not directly overseeing next week’s mission. Celestis and Elysium Space placed cremated remains onboard a lunar lander owned and operated by Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic Technology. NASA provided funding and guidance, but it is not in charge. It is one of many customers onboard the Peregrine lander, which is scheduled to land on the moon Feb. 23.
The remains will be sent into space on the inaugural flight of United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket. United Launch Alliance is a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin. Its Vulcan rocket is scheduled to launch from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida during a window that opens at 1:18 a.m. CST.
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“We recognize that some non-NASA commercial payloads could be a cause for concern to some communities,” said Joel Kearns, deputy associate administrator for exploration in NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. “And those communities may not understand that these missions are commercial and they're not U.S. government missions.”
An intergovernmental meeting that includes NASA, the White House and the Department of Transportation will be held Friday with the Navajo Nation.
“We take concerns like those expressed from the Navajo Nation very, very seriously,” he said. “And we think we're going to be continuing on this conversation.”
Nygren, responding to NASA in a statement released Thursday, said both government and private sector activities in space should respect the cultural heritage and spiritual beliefs of all communities.
"The Navajo Nation is not opposed to scientific progress or space exploration," Nygren said. "We call upon NASA to act accordingly and to work with us to protect our sacred sites and cultural heritage, not just on Earth, but in all realms that our traditions hold dear."
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