‍

Blake, Wm. The Wandering Moon. 1816.

‍

A lander carrying over 70 deceased individuals’ remains was intended to land on the Moon. The system failed, and the remains are now expected to burn up during re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere.

The participants were in capsules that were set to “remain on the lunar surface as a permanent tribute to the intrepid souls who never stopped reaching for the stars,” Astrobotic Technology, which operated the lander, said on its website. But once a critical issue with the propulsion system became evident, Astrobotic “made the difficult decision to maintain the current spacecraft’s trajectory to re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere.”

Several “memorial spacecraft companies” were involved in the mission. One of them, Celestis, sells so-called memorial flights that start at $4,995.

Family members of the deceased were in a social media group, and one woman remarked following the news of the mission failure that their loved ones would still be among “the earliest adventurers to leave our lonely planet.”

Not everyone was supportive of the mission. The Navajo Nation, which views the Moon as sacred, said placing the remains there was “tantamount to desecration.” In response to the objections in December, NASA apologized and committed to consulting with Native Americans “if we ever discuss doing something like this again.”