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Blake, Wm. Night Startled by the Lark. 1816.

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A woman who passed away in 2022 has had her ashes, as well as her cat’s, sent into space by her family as a final tribute. The send-off was carried out by a company specializing in space memorials.

Elizabeth, an avid explorer, chose outer space as her final destination, a dream fulfilled by a stratospheric balloon that carried her ashes over 100,000 feet above Earth.

Aura Flights charges $3,725 for the service, which includes a personalized film of the journey and a memorial page. The company says that demand has risen, reporting more than one launch a week last year.

Aura Flights: “When we launched the service, there was already a cultural shift with people opting for cremations over burial and moving away from traditional funeral services towards more personalized, celebratory events. That change was massively accepted in the early days of the pandemic when people weren’t able to attend in-person funerals and we saw a massive uptick in inquiries that has only grown stronger since.”