Indigenous people question sending human ashes to the Moon – 01/05/2024 – Science

The United States is expected to soon launch its first spacecraft to attempt a soft landing on the Moon since the Apollo era, in a historic collaboration with the private sector. But the mission is far from being unanimous in the country.

The Navajo Nation, the largest indigenous tribe in the USA, expressed its concern about the presence of cremated human remains in the lander, classifying the mission as a “desecration” of the Moon, a sacred star in their culture.

Next Monday (8), Astrobotic’s Peregrine module is expected to travel on a giant Vulcan Centaur rocket, from United Launch Alliance, to make its maiden voyage in a commercial partnership with NASA aimed at saving money for the American space agency.

The rocket, measuring almost 62 meters, arrived this Friday (5) at the launch pad in Florida. The launch is scheduled for 2:18 am (4:18 am Brasília time) on Monday from Cape Canaveral.

Peregrine’s scientific instruments will explore radiation from the lunar surface, helping the American agency better prepare for manned missions planned for the end of this decade, with the Artemis program.

Cargoes from two companies, Elysium Space and Celestis, will also be taken, containing cremated remains and DNA inside the probe, which must remain on the Moon.

Elysium didn’t provide details, but Celestis will feature 69 individual “participants,” including the late Star Trek series creator Gene Roddenberry, science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke, and a dog named Indica-Noodle Fabiano. Customers paid a minimum of US$12,995 (R$63,553), according to the company’s website.

In a Dec. 21 letter addressed to NASA and Department of Transportation officials, Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren expressed his community’s “deep concern and disappointment” and asked the U.S. space agency to delay the launch.

“The Moon holds a sacred position in many indigenous cultures, including our own,” Nygren wrote. “The act of depositing human remains and other materials on the Moon, which could be perceived as discards anywhere else, amounts to the desecration of this sacred space,” he added.

Nygren added that the situation was reminiscent of the Lunar Prospector mission, launched by NASA in 1998, which intentionally exploded a probe against the surface of the Moon.

The module carried the remains of renowned geologist Eugene Shoemaker, which was also criticized by the Navajo.

NASA then apologized and pledged to consult with indigenous people in the future, according to a report published in the Spokane, Washington newspaper The Spokesman-Review.

The US space agency’s deputy associate administrator for exploration, Joel Kearns, said on Thursday (4) that an intergovernmental team had organized a meeting with the Navajo Nation, but added that he had no control over its private partner.

“We take the concerns expressed by the Navajo Nation very, very, very seriously and we believe we will continue this conversation,” Kearns told reporters.

Celestis, in turn, was less conciliatory.

“No culture or religion should exercise a veto over space missions based on religious principles,” declared the company, which denied it was “desecrating the Moon”, adding that the material would remain on board the landing module and not directly on the lunar surface .

Kearns said NASA’s growing private memberships could lead to “changes in the way these issues are perceived” or the establishment of industry standards.

This will not be the first time that human DNA has reached the surface of this celestial body, if the mission is successful. Between 1969 and 1972, nearly a hundred bags of feces and urine were left behind by American astronauts during the Apollo moon landings.