The American company Celestis, which specializes in space funerals, will launch the Memorial Cargo on June 24 with the help of Falcon 9 SpaceX. This mission will also test a new European NYX spacecraft created by The Exploration Company (TEC).
This time, more than 150 capsules with creamy residues and DNA samples of dead people from all over the world will go to space. These capsules are placed on board the NYX spacecraft prototype called Mission Possible, which will first deliver a useful cargo of customers to the Earth's orbit. After launching, the ship will make two or three rotations around the Earth, then enter the atmosphere and land in the Pacific, where it will be lifted from the water. Memorial capsules will return relatives and loved ones as space souvenirs. One of the most moving moments of the mission will be the participation of three -year -old Matteo Bart, who will become the youngest German and European whose DNA will be sent into space. He will symbolically join his grandfather Ditter Bart, which the remains will also go into orbit.
NYX is a new reusable spacecraft that TEC plans to use for delivery of goods in orbit, in particular to the International Space Station. The full launch is planned for 2028, but the current mission will be the first step towards the realization of this ambitious goal.
The NYX ship should be a European response to American SpaceX and Northrop Grumman, which is actively serving the ISS.
