US News Biden Administration to Consult with Navajo About Human Remains on the Moon

[tom_mai78101]

NASA said today the Biden Administration will consult with the Navajo Nation about its concerns that human remains are being placed on the Moon on landers developed through the agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program. The Moon is sacred to the Navajo and putting human remains there is a sacrilege to them. Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander is a commercial mission, however, and NASA has no control over non-NASA payloads that are aboard. The chairman of the company sending the remains, Celestis, insists it is a service of celebration, not desecration.

As we reported on Sunday, the President of the Navajo Nation is asking for the Peregrine launch, targeted for January 8, to be postponed.

Celestis is one of Astrobotic’s 17 customers on this first Peregrine mission and is sending cremated remains, “cremains,” and DNA of dozens of people and one dog on what it calls the Tranquility Flight in capsules attached to the lander.

This is Celestis’s second mission to the Moon. The first, Luna 01, was launched in 1998 aboard NASA’s Lunar Prospector. The Celestis capsule contained the ashes of renowned planetary scientist Eugene Shoemaker. The spacecraft was deliberately crashed into the lunar surface in 1999 at the end of its mission and Shoemaker’s remains thus were deposited on the surface.

Biden Administration to Consult with Navajo About Human Remains on the Moon

Posted: January 4, 2024 6:02 pm ET | Last Updated: January 4, 2024 6:02 pm ET | The Biden Administration has agreed to an intergovernmental meeting with the Navajo Nation to discuss human remains being sent to the Moon on non-NASA missions, which is sacrilegious to them. The chairman of the...

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[The Helper]

Did not see that one coming. Since it is a private company I wonder how they proceed? Very strange case as it is Navajo Nation vs. Private company on religous grounds. Interesting to see how this one plays out.

 

[tom_mai78101]

I guess that also means, if Navajo Nation wins, perhaps we won't be able to do manned lunar missions in the future.

 

[The Helper]

As long as we do not bury any dead on the moon.

 

[The Helper]

This is the story about the commercial moon lander mission that this is about.

First US moon lander since Apollo prepares to blast off on Monday

Commercial Peregrine mission aims to deliver Nasa scientific equipment to moon along with mementos and ashes of Star Trek creator

Final preparations are under way at Cape Canaveral in Florida for a milestone mission to put a US lander on the moon, an achievement not seen in more than 50 years since the end of the Apollo project.

Last-minute glitches aside, Peregrine mission one, named after the fastest animal on Earth, will roar into the sky at 7.18am UK time Monday. After looping around the planet, it will head to the moon and slip into lunar orbit before an attempted landing soon after local sunrise on 23 February.

Even in the white-knuckle world of space exploration, the mission is considered risky. While Nasa has instruments aboard the robotic lander, this is a commercial operation. No private company has ever achieved a soft landing on the moon or any other celestial body.

“There’s a lot riding here,” said John Thornton, the chief executive of Astrobotic, the Pittsburgh firm leading the mission. “It’s a mix of emotions. There’s thrill and excitement, but I’m also a bit terrified because there’s a lot on the line.”

First US moon lander since Apollo prepares to blast off on Monday

Commercial Peregrine mission aims to deliver Nasa scientific equipment to moon along with mementos and ashes of Star Trek creator

www.theguardian.com