For many of us, looking up at the stars is symbolic of looking to the heavens and of looking up to, and sometimes even speaking to, our departed loved ones. 

Space burials have been a thing of interest for many years, and while there have been a few people whose ashes have been launched into space, up until recently the notion of having your remains sent into orbit was reserved for science fiction books or the most imaginative of minds. This concept, however, is now becoming a reality and you can opt to have you or your loved one’s cremated remains sent on a space mission – whether in perpetual orbit, to the moon, or into deep space. 

In 1997, the private company Celestis began carrying out space burials, flying as secondary payloads. In 1998, a small vial of astronomer Eugene Shoemaker’s ashes were sent into orbit as part of a controlled crash landing of NASA’s Lunar Prospector onto the moon’s surface. The ashes of actor James Doohan, who played “Scotty” on the hit TV show Star Trek, were sent to space alongside 320 sets of ashes as part of a Space X mission in 2012, with Mercury 7 astronaut Gordon Cooper’s ashes also on board.

And then in 2017, Elysium Space announced the world’s first memorial flight involving a spacecraft. The launch took place from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

So, whether you’re a missile and rocket enthusiast, a lover of space travel and stars above, or you just like the idea of being eternally memorialized, you too, could soar into the heavens, and take your final trip in a little rocket ship. 

In the words of Charles M. Moore,

Smart Cremation cannot yet launch you into space, but we can help you with something much more down to Earth.  Our experienced, kind, and compassionate staff is available to share with you all the benefits of cremation pre-planning. Call us today to talk about your plans (503) 402-2578