Rare Fossils Rocketed Into Space Blasted as Unethical Publicity Stunt

Scientists around the world are condemning a recent expedition that was meant to honor and celebrate South African science after it brought ancient human remains to the edge of outer space.

The parts of the remains of Australopithecus sediba and Homo naledi, two ancient human relatives found in South Africa’s Cradle of Humankind archaeological site, were flown on a Virgin Galactic flight on Sept. 8. The flight left from New Mexico with South African-born billionaire Timothy Nash carrying the fossils in a tube in his pocket.

Lee Berger, the director of the Centre for the Exploration of the Deep Human Journey at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa and National Geographic explorer, chose the fossils to be a part of the trip, as reported by Live Science. Berger was an essential part of the bones’ discoveries.

The trip that the fossils were on has since been called “unethical,” “reckless,” and “a publicity stunt” by researchers, saying that if something had gone wrong, evidence of important human history could have been lost forever, as reported by The Guardian.

South African scientific rules are similar to most other countries: fossils may only travel for scientific purposes and must be securely packed.

“The really worrying thing is that the authorities allowed this to happen. They didn’t talk to other people in the field and find out how they would have reacted, and that is the most worrying part of this affair. Individuals make mistakes but you should have a system that prevents that happening. This has to be put right as a matter of urgency,” Professor Mark Collard, Canada research chair in human evolutionary studies, told the Observer.

The first human remains to ever leave Earth included part of A. sebida’s 2-million-year-old collarbone, which was discovered in 2008, and H. naledi’s 250,000-year-old thumb bone, which was discovered in 2013.

"Space archaeologists like me are definitely interested in the effect of the space environment on items in space, but I don't think we'd use a piece of heritage from here on Earth as a test article to see what happens to it," Justin Walsh, a professor of art and archaeology at Chapman University in California, told Live Science.

Since the backlash, Berger has claimed that the decision to send the bones into space was carefully thought out and that “All the necessary permissions and permits were acquired, and great care was taken to ensure [the fossils’] safety,” according to The Guardian.

Berger’s permit request was approved by the South African Heritage Resources Agency with his request talking about promoting and bringing recognition to the archaeological achievements, not necessarily answering any scientific questions.