'A profound desecration': Navajo Nation asks NASA to delay moon mission with human remains

On Monday, an American company is set to make history as the first private U.S. entity to embark on a mission to send a lander to the surface of the moon.

The landmark endeavor is not just the latest sign of a budding commercial space age, but an important step in NASA’s own goal of putting astronauts back on the moon for the first time in five decades. The upcoming launch, which has faced setbacks and delays, has been long-awaited.

But some are hoping it can wait a little longer.

Leaders of Navajo Nation sent a letter Dec. 21 to NASA and the U.S. Department of Transportation objecting to plans for human remains to be carried aboard the rocket in order to be laid to rest on the lunar surface. Buu Nygren, president of the Navajo Nation, requested the launch window to be delayed until tribe leaders can meet with NASA and other government leaders to discuss their concerns.

In an updated letter on Thursday, Nygren announced plans to meet Friday afternoon with the White House, USDOT and NASA.

"The sacredness of the moon is deeply embedded in the spirituality and heritage of many Indigenous cultures, including our own," Nygren said in a statement. “The placement of human remains on the moon is a profound desecration of this celestial body revered by our people.”

The year ahead in space:A return to the moon and a rare eclipse among 5 great space events on the horizon in 2024

What is the Peregrine Mission One?

Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic and its Peregrine Mission One is one of two NASA-supported private companies racing to get the U.S. back on the moon this year. The uncrewed commercial missions are a vital part of NASA's hopes of sending astronauts back to the lunar surface itself within the next few years as part of its Artemis program.

Houston’s Intuitive Machines is the second company with lunar ambitions, with aims to launch a lander in mid-February aboard a flight with SpaceX. The two companies each received nearly $80 million in 2019 under a NASA program to develop lunar delivery services, the Associated Press reported.

It will take Astrobotic two weeks to get to the moon and another month in lunar orbit before a landing is attempted on Feb. 23.

When it potentially launches Monday from Cape Canaveral, Florida, Astrobotic's Peregrine lunar lander will be carried on the United Launch Alliance's new Vulcan Centaur rocket along with a variety of scientific instruments developed by NASA.

But that's not the only cargo slated to be carried aboard the rocket.

Memorial payloads from two other companies, Celestis and Elysium, are to contain cremated human remains and DNA of 70 people slated for a celestial burial. Among them are notable names that include “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry and science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke.

Another 265 people will be represented on the rocket’s upper stage, which will circle the sun once separated from the lander. They include three original “Star Trek” cast members, as well as strands of hair from three U.S. presidents: George Washington, Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy, the Associated Press has reported.

Navajo Nation says NASA violated commitment to consult tribal leaders

Navajo members and other Indigenous tribes revere the moon as a sacred place, which is why Nygren authored the Dec. 21 letter imploring for the mission to be postponed until his people are consulted.

According to Nygren's letter, NASA's decision to authorize human remains to be taken to the moon violates the space agency's previous commitment to notify the Navajo Nation regarding memorial flights involving human remains. That promise dates back to 1998 when NASA sent a polycarbonate capsule containing the ashes of geologist Eugene Shoemaker to rest on the moon.

"At the time, Navajo Nation President Albert Hale voiced our objections regarding this action," Nygren wrote in the letter. "In response, NASA issued a formal apology and promised consultation with tribes before authorizing further missions carrying human remains to the moon."

Nygren also contends that President Joe Biden's administration promised to consult with tribal leaders over similar concerns, as outlined in a Jan. 26, 2021 memorandum.

In a press conference held Friday, Nygren said he reassured the White House and the Department of Transportation that the stance of the Navajo Nation has not changed since 90s.

“The Navajo Nation holds the moon in such high regard. When it comes to our way of life and our culture, we shouldn’t be transporting human remains or ashes to the moon,” clarifying that humans should be laid to rest where they are born. 

NASA claims to have no oversight over commercial payloads

The upcoming mission, the first launch of the Vulcan Centaur, represents the debut of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program.

With a budget of $2.6 billion in contracts available through 2028, the program will see NASA more often partnering with private companies to help place scientific payloads on the lunar surface, freeing the space agency up to focus on building spacecraft and rockets for deep space missions.

That also means that NASA has no oversight over exactly what additional payloads are included in commercial flights.

Joel Kearns, a NASA deputy associate administrators, briefly addressed Navajo Nation’s concerns during a pre-launch media briefing Thursday. While he emphasized that NASA is merely contracting with those private companies, he did acknowledge that commercial missions could cause additional controversies as they become more common. 

"With those new opportunities and new ways of doing business, we recognize that some non-NASA commercial payloads can be a cause for concern for some communities," Kearns said. "For our own missions and our own cargo and our own payloads, NASA works to be very mindful of potential concerns for any work that we'll do on the moon."

Following Kearn's remarks, Nygren issued a new letter Thursday critical of NASA for seeming to suggest it is not responsible for the decisions of commercial entities with which it contracts.

"While I acknowledge the excitement and progress associated with the first commercial lunar payload service flight, the Navajo Nation holds profound concerns regarding the lack of oversight and regulation of non-NASA commercial payloads," Nygren said. "As stewards of our culture and traditions, it is our responsibility to voice our grievances when actions are taken that could desecrate sacred spaces and disregard deeply held cultural beliefs."

Celestis CEO: Navajo concerns not 'compelling'

However, Celestis CEO and co-founder Charles M. Chafer took issue with Nygren's characterization of their memorial missions as a desecration of the moon's surface.

Celestis has been offering a variety of memorial spaceflights for more than 20 years, which include taking human remains for brief flights to the edge of space before returning them back to Earth.

The U.S.' renewed interest in lunar missions means that the company can begin offering grieving families with at least $12,995 to spare the opportunity to send their loved ones to the moon, where their cremated remains are interred in flight capsules permanently encased in lunar landers.

"Humans must be able to take our rituals, celebrations, and memorials with us as we explore the solar system," Chafer said in a Friday statement to USA TODAY. "It’s hard for us to understand why scattering and interring ashes on literally millions of locations on Earth is an appropriate ritual, but doing the same on the moon is somehow inappropriate."

Chafer also said dismissed Nygren's concerns as not "compelling."

"No individual religion can or should dictate whether a space mission should be approved ... we do not and never have let religious beliefs dictate humanity’s space efforts," Chafer said. "No one, and no religion, owns the moon and were the beliefs of the world’s multitude of religions considered it’s quite likely that no missions would ever be approved."

Contributing: The Associated Press, Amaris Encinas; USA Today

Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com