VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — The family of a mother of eight who was a huge “Star Trek” fan has ensured the final frontier will be her ultimate resting place.
Gloria Knowlan was 86 at the time of her death 12 years ago. A small quantity of ashes from her cremated body are to be in one of 250 memorial capsules set to be launched into space later this month..
Launch organizers are hoping the rocket carrying the capsules will wind up approximately 330 million kilometers (205 million miles) from Earth, roughly past the orbit of Mars.
Their final journey will take place through American company Celestis Inc., which has offered what it calls “memorial space flights” for more than two decades.
Rod Knowlan said he thinks his mother would be “just tickled” by the idea that a part of her remains were going to space alongside some of the people she saw on TV.
“She was a fan of ‘Star Trek,’ of the concept, from the outset,″ he said in a telephone interview.
Co-founder and CEO Charles Chafer said the rocket carrying Knowlan’s remains, scheduled to take off from Cape Canaveral, Fla. on Jan. 8, will mark the first time the company has offered a trip into “deep space,″ meaning the capsules won’t eventually fall to Earth.
“I believe it’s an awful lot like why people choose to be scattered at sea,” Chafer said. “There’s a calling there. There’s something about the sea that either interests them or attracts them as a location for a memorial service.”
The capsules will be taken into space by the commercially owned and aptly named Vulcan rocket.
Chafer said the main purpose of the trip is for the rocket to test its capabilities to become the first commercial spacecraft to land on the moon and his company’s cargo is getting taken along to serve a “secondary” purpose.
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