Space burial

Space burial is a burial procedure where a small sample of the cremated ashes of the deceased in a lipstick sized capsule are launched into space using a rocket. As of 2004, samples of about 150 people have been "buried" in space.

Technical and economical aspects

The effort and cost of launching an object into space is very high. Furthermore, the cost is directly related to the payload, i.e. the mass of the object. Therefore various measures are taken to reduce the mass of the burial, which usually include:

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• The corpse is cremated, reducing the mass of the remains to about 5% of the initial mass (a few kg)
• Only a small sample of the ashes is included, typically only 1g or 7g. The remainder of the ashes can be buried conventionally in the earth or in the sea.

Other measures to reduce cost include:

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• No rockets are specially launched for this purpose, the samples of the remains are just part of the payload.
• Multiple remains are buried with the same rocket, although usually the remains are in separate capsules.

The capsules are kept together in a flight container, e.g. attached to the upper stage engine of the rocket, to avoid additional "space debris".

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The second factor greatly influencing the cost includes the target location of the payload. Most burials do not actually leave the gravitational field of the earth but only achieve an orbit around earth. The capsules containing the samples of the remains circle the earth, until the upper layers of the Earth's atmosphere have slowed down the capsules, and they reenter the atmosphere. The capsules burn up upon reentry similar to a shooting star, and the ashes are scattered in the atmosphere. The time between launch and reentry depends on the orbit of the satellite, and can vary widely. The first burial reentered after only 5 years, but other burials are not expected to reenter in less than 250 years.

Related Topics:
Gravitational field - Orbit around earth - Earth's atmosphere - Reenter - Shooting star

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There are a number of alternative options if a reentry into the earth atmosphere is not desired. All of them are more complex and expensive than a burial in earth orbit. If an object leaves the gravitational field of the earth, it enters the gravitational field of another body in space. The closest object near the earth for that purpose is the moon. Although the moon is technically also in the gravitational field of the earth, it will not hit the earth within any human timeframe. A service is available for space burial on the moon. As of 2005, the only person buried this way is Dr. Eugene Shoemaker, (April 28, 1928 - July 18, 1997), best known for co-discovering the Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9.

Related Topics:
Moon - Eugene Shoemaker - April 28 - 1928 - July 18 - 1997 - Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9

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If the moon is still too close, it is possible to launch the remains into outer space, although this is the most costly space burial currently available. As of 2004, nobody has been buried yet in outer space, although some companies accept reservations for this procedure.

Related Topics:
Outer space - As of 2004

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