'Space Burial'

For those that always wanted to fly or explore space, ‘space burial’ could be an interesting option, but it might not mean what it would at first appear to..

What is commonly termed ‘space burial’ is the practice of sending cremated remains (cremains) into space, and there are a number of different options for this, including launching them into the earth’s orbit, onto the lunar surface or into deep space. It is also possible for the cremains to be returned to earth in some cases.

With these options only fraction of the cremated remains, typically 1 or 7 grams, is sent into space.

Whilst this is a novel and interesting memorial act, it doesn’t deal with disposing of the entirety of the cremains - the rest can be scattered or buried as would be normal with cremains.

At first it might seem a worrying environmentally unfriendly way of marking the life of a loved one; however the capsule containing the remains is transported as a ‘secondary payload’, which means that they are part of a greater mission.

Another environmental concern could be ‘littering’ in space, but according to Celestis, the only team that conducts Memorial Spaceflights, ‘Celestis spacecraft are carefully designed so as not to create orbital debris. Each spacecraft stays permanently attached to a rocket stage that orbits Earth until the spacecraft harmlessly re-enters and is completely consumed by Earth’s atmosphere — blazing like a shooting star in final tribute to the passengers aboard.’[1]

A young company in the UK offers an alternative to this which sees the cremated remains scattered into the stratosphere. Stardust Ashes provides a service whereby an environmentally-friendly balloon carries the cremains to a height of up to 100,000 ft, where they are released from a lightweight biodegradable urn into the stratosphere.

This may not seem as high-tech as a trip into deep space, but the gentle carrying off of the cremains into the sky is certainly heartfelt– the first ash scattering held by Stardust Ashes was to commemorate the life of the founder’s grandmother.

These methods of commemoration seem designed to minimise negative impact on the environment; however the fact is that cremation – by far the most common means of dealing with human remains in the UK today – is significantly damaging to the environment.

But whilst cremation seems the only way in which these memorial acts are currently possible, there are plans afoot which may completely revolutionise the death industry to make it cleaner and greener, and which may provide an alternative method to cremation that may see our remains being sent off into the space via balloon or spacecraft in a much greener way.

More on green alternatives to cremation soon!
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[1] Celestis. (2012). Frequently Asked Questions.[online] Available at http://www.celestis.com/faq.asp. Accessed 06.06.12.