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Space burials involve projecting a small amount of cremated remains into space, usually into Earth orbit. Burial in deep space is possible but expensive. Alternatives include having a star named in one’s honor or sending remains on a round-trip flight to space. Notable people buried in space include Gene Rodenberry and Timothy Leary.
In the past, unconventional burials consisted of burials at sea or in other unusual areas where the deceased or their family members wished to have the cremated remains spread. Space burials are possible today, raising the bar towards the unique places you can call their final resting place. However, it is still not possible to have one’s remains buried in space whole; instead, a sample of your ashes from cremation could be involved in a space burial.
Space burial involves having a small percentage of your cremated remains, usually 0.04 to 0.5 ounces (1g-14g), projected into space. The ashes are contained in a small tube and transported off-world via spaceship or rocket. In most cases, the ashes of more than one person are transported and released into space simultaneously to reduce costs, and rockets are not launched for the sole purpose of being buried in space. Therefore, people wishing to be buried in space have to wait for the scheduled launches of additional missions. Because only a small percentage of the remains are buried in the space, traditional earth services and burials are also held.
Most space burials are projected into Earth orbit which is beyond the planet’s atmosphere but is not considered outer space. Human remains orbit the earth for a finite amount of time before falling back into the atmosphere and burning up upon re-entry. This re-entry prevents space pollution, also called orbital debris, and can take anywhere from two to several hundred years.
It is also possible to be buried in space at a distance greater than that of the Earth’s orbit such as that of the moon. Lunar orbiting space burials do not re-enter Earth’s atmosphere in any human timescale, possibly taking thousands of years before falling back to earth. Some remnants are destined to go even further than Pluto’s distance which is considered deep.
Burial in space can be extremely expensive and so so far only a few relatives have found their final resting place there. For example, just 1 gram (0.035 ounce) of a person’s ashes launched into deep space costs about $12,500 US Dollars (USD). Those buried in space in Earth orbit can arrange the burial for less, at a cost of around $1,300 USD.
Alternatives to being buried in space while still honoring one’s love of the cosmos include having a star named in a person’s honor or sending one’s remains on a round-trip flight to space. These services cost much less than having the remains buried in space while still getting a unique memorial.
Some famous people buried in space include Star Trek creator Gene Rodenberry and psychologist Timothy Leary. Slated to be buried in space in 2007 is Star Trek actor James Doohan and astronaut L. Gordon Cooper. Others considered buried in space include those who have tragically lost their lives on space missions which include many research animals.
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