Man Sends DNA To Moon in the Speculation That Alien Life Will Construct An Army Of His Clones

The days of being catapulted at your enemies or thrown into a pit with other plague victims after your death are long gone. Your corpse now has a plethora of disposal options at its disposal, ranging from the terrifying world of cryonics to aquamation.

A possibility that has reportedly existed since 1994 at the latest is having your cremated remains launched into space. The space burial company Celestis launches its clients' remains onto other flights so they can either stay in Earth's orbit, be launched into deep space, or spend their entire lives on the Moon. Star Trek actor Nichelle Nichols, who portrayed Lieutenant Uhura, and series creator Gene Roddenberry, as well as astronaut L. Gordon Cooper, are among those who have chosen to be buried in heaven.

People who are choosing space burials gave their own explanations for doing so in a recent New York Times interview. These reasons ranged from a fear of the darkness associated with burial to a fascination with the unknown.

Professor of physics Kenneth Ohm, who intends to send his DNA to the lunar south pole, provided one particularly noteworthy response. Ohm is sending his DNA up to the Moon for "practical" reasons in addition to providing his family with a chance to think of him when they gaze up at it. According to what he told the New York Times, part of the reason was in case, thirty to forty years from now, intelligent humans or alien civilizations discovered his DNA and used it for some exciting project.

Ohm proposed that aliens might, for example, create an army of Ken clones to be dispersed across the universe or put a Ken Ohm in an intergalactic zoo. Having a dream is nice, assuming it's not too serious.

The cremation parlor is beaten by a sendoff that includes a memorial service, a tour of the launch site, and nibbles—that is, assuming aliens don't decide to use your clones to build an army for unknown or inexplicable reasons.

Dead American presidents, get comfortable—whether you like it or not, you're going to space. As part of a symbolic space burial flight, the DNA of four former US presidents will be launched into deep space alongside several other well-known figures, all of whom will have some of their remains placed in unique capsules and launched into solar orbit aboard a United Launch Alliance Vulcan rocket.

As part of a DNA migration technique similar to how species formerly migrated around the earth, the burial company Celestis, which specialises in sending DNA into deep space to join a portion of a future human colony, will carry out the gesture.

According to Celestis, the DNA left over from these flights will be used as a means of storing data that will chronicle the history of America and humanity, a resource that future deep-space civilizations may utilise as a biological history book. It's irrelevant that we don't know exactly how these civilizations would find the floating DNA libraries in all of space.

In addition to everything we can currently learn from DNA, Celestis hope that in the future, a person's entire identity can be deduced from their DNA, making even small amounts of DNA an essential means of storing information and safeguarding humankind.

For this reason, the cremated remains of many Star Trek crew members will soon be added to the DNA of George Washington, Ronald Reagan, John F. Kennedy, and Dwight D. Eisenhower, and they will be launched into space for all eternity. The capsules contain significant amounts of DNA, and the presidents will be immortalized in hair pieces.

As Lieutenant Uhura on the original "Star Trek," Nichelle Nichols paved the way for Black actors. Although she was unable to travel to space during her lifetime, her ashes and DNA are expected to arrive at the final frontier as early as this year.

Along with the ashes of other beloved Star Trek pioneers like Majel Barrett Roddenberry ("Nurse Chapel"), James Doohan ("Scotty"), Gene Roddenberry, the creator of the TV series, and visual effects master Douglas Trumbull, the symbolic samples are expected to travel beyond the moon.

And to top it all off, a Vulcan rocket launch will mark the start of Nichols' memorial journey. Her son Kyle Johnson said, "I'm sure she would have much preferred to go on the shuttle, but this was a very near second.

Organized by Houston-based Celestis, which has been arranging for its clients' cremated remains to be flown for 25 years, is the "Enterprise" memorial mission. The first Vulcan Centaur mission from United Launch Alliance is scheduled for no earlier than December, and one of the secondary payloads will be a gram of Nichols' ashes along with DNA samples from both her and Johnson.

The main task assigned to ULA is to transport Astrobotic's robotic Peregrine lander to the moon for a series of scientific investigations in advance of NASA's crewed Artemis moon missions. However, the Centaur and its attached payloads will travel towards an appropriately named "graveyard orbit" around the sun once the Vulcan booster and the Centaur upper stage have completed their missions. More than 150 Celestis capsules holding cremated remains, DNA samples, and messages meant to last in interplanetary space will be among those payloads.

The notion of incorporating a memorial for Nichols emerged shortly after her passing on July 30 at the age of 89. Charles Chafer, a co-founder of Celestis, reportedly discussed joining the memorial mission with a Trek theme, according to Johnson.

Johnson remarked, "I was kind of in a state of shock, crying my eyes out or feeling kind of numb." Charlie and the crew then got in touch with us to let us know about this and extend an invitation to take part. The timing couldn't have been more ideal, and thinking about it was truly astounding.

Part of the reason Nichols became well-known as the communications officer of the Starship Enterprise, Uhura, in 1968 was that she witnessed what many believe to be the first-ever interracial kiss between a White and Black character on a prime-time TV show. William Shatner, who portrayed Captain James Kirk and later embarked on a suborbital space journey in October of last year, was the other kisser.