Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

About Our Luna Service

At its core, Celestis is an established memorial spaceflight company grounded in aerospace heritage, legal compliance, and decades of trusted service. What may seem unfamiliar at first is, in practice, a carefully structured and deeply meaningful form of remembrance, one that honors both the life of the individual and humanity’s enduring connection to exploration. Below are some answers to frequently asked questions. For more information, contact us.

Our Luna Service delivers a Celestis spacecraft carrying cremated remains or DNA into lunar orbit or onto the Moon’s surface, establishing a lasting tribute near or on our closest celestial

Yes. Celestis operates in full compliance with U.S. law and applicable international space law. Our memorial spaceflights fly through licensed commercial launch providers under the same regulatory framework used for scientific and commercial payloads. Each memorial capsule is integrated as part of a lawful spacecraft payload and handled in accordance with all applicable launch and spaceflight regulations.

There are strict rules governing what may be placed aboard spacecraft and how missions are conducted, and Celestis operates within those requirements. Our lunar missions do not involve traditional burial. We do not place bodies, coffins, or exposed remains on the Moon. Instead, we send a sealed memorial capsule containing either preserved DNA or a symbolic portion of cremated remains, typically about one gram, integrated securely within the spacecraft.
At NASA’s request, Celestis conducted the first lunar memorial spaceflight in 1998 to honor Dr. Eugene Shoemaker, the renowned planetary scientist whose work helped shape modern lunar science. That mission remains a historic example of how remembrance and exploration can coexist with dignity and purpose.
No. That is not how Celestis missions are designed. Our lunar memorial capsules are small, sealed, and permanently affixed within the spacecraft. Nothing is scattered, released, or deposited loosely on the lunar surface. Celestis does not create debris in lunar orbit or on the Moon, and our memorial payloads remain integrated as part of the spacecraft system.
As humanity expands its presence beyond Earth, future lunar development may include research stations, infrastructure, resource use, manufacturing, and eventually human settlement. Cultural practices, including remembrance and memorialization, will naturally evolve alongside that expansion. Celestis offers a thoughtful and highly controlled way for memorial traditions to extend into space responsibly and respectfully.

Celestis lunar memorial spaceflight service currently begins at $12,995 for a symbolic portion of cremated remains or preserved DNA, plus a one-time processing fee of $245.

For more than 30 years, Celestis has served families from around the world and has flown more than 2,000 participants across 25 memorial spaceflights.

No. There are no bodies, coffins, burial plots, or exposed remains involved in a Celestis lunar mission. Memorial payloads remain enclosed within the spacecraft system. In a lunar orbit mission, they remain in orbit around the Moon. In a lunar surface mission, they remain integrated with the landed spacecraft. There is no traditional gravesite and nothing resembling a terrestrial cemetery.

No. Celestis does not launch bodies. We launch either preserved DNA or a symbolic portion of cremated remains placed within a small, sealed, engraved flight capsule designed specifically for spaceflight.

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