A commercial partnership also allowed paying customers to send their mementos to the Moon.
But what does that mean, both ethically and legally?
It ran intofatal fuel issuesshortly after being launched on Vulcan Centaur rocket from Cape Canaveral.
Conceptual view of Astrobotic’s Peregrine lander on the Moon.Image: Astrobotic
On board were vanity canisters.
The idea arosein a partnershipbetween the firm and global freight company DHL.
Apart from size, there were a few other limitations on what each package could contain.
Peregrine was also carryingscientific instrumentsfrom six countries and many science teams.
Perhaps surprisingly, sending ashes into space is not new aboard suborbital and Earth orbital flights.
Two American companies make a business of the service starting at just a few thousand dollars:CelestisandElysium Space.
The practice is embraced by many, including astronauts who have been in space.
A Moon burial (yes, it’s possible for you to buy one) costs morearound $13,000.
Peregrine, if it had made it, would have marked the first commercial lunar burial.
Like many other indigenous cultures, the Navajo Nation considers the Moon sacred andopposesusing it as a memorial site.
For example, in Germany, ashesmust be buriedin a cemetery.
With space privatisation accelerating, the ethical and legal maze deepens.
The Outer Space Treaty (OST)declares spacethe province of all mankind while banning national appropriation.
It fails, however, to address what private companies and individuals can do.
The recentArtemis Accords, signed by 32 nations, expand protection to lunar sites of historical significance.
But these protections only apply to governments, not commercial missions.
And no one owns the Moon to grant burial rights, or any other world or celestial body.
The treaty requires states to authorise and supervise activities in space.
It requires due regard for the interests of other states.
Where to draw a line?
Earths orbit is already clogged with defunct satellites and, further out, items likeElon Musks Tesla.
Some have left personal ones, too, like Apollo 16s Charles Duke, who left aframed family photo.
We cannot turn back the clock on private space enterprise, nor should we.
It is worth pausing for thought on future commercialisation such as mining asteroids and the eventual colonisation of space.
Carol Oliveris a professor in science communication and astrobiology atUNSW Sydney.
This article is republished fromThe Conversationunder a Creative Commons license.
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