The US Moon Lander Might Be Doomed but Don’t Panic: JFK’s DNA Is Doing Fine

It was meant to be a triumphant return to the moon: The Peregrine lunar lander, made by Pittsburgh-based space exploration company Astrobotic, was bringing America back to the moon after a 50-year hiatus and opening the moon for business. But shortly after launch on Monday, the lander started leaking propellant and, hours later, it became clear it would not land as planned.

While Peregrine was carrying a host of scientific instruments, one of its other payloads had caught the public imagination: A capsule full of human remains, including those of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry. The failure of a valve, leading to the loss of propellant, means that those remains will not reach their final lunar resting place.

But this was not the only capsule full of human remains and DNA on board the Vulcan rocket that took Peregrine to space. There was another pod filled with both remains and DNA samples, this time heading not for the moon, but for deep space hundreds of millions of miles from Earth. And this surviving capsule is the one that contains the DNA of former presidents John F. Kennedy, Dwight D. Eisenhower and George Washington.

The capsules are the brainchild of a space burial company called Celestis. Speaking to The Messenger, co-founder and company president Charles Chafer described Monday's launch as "a really great day for us."

"It was a beautiful launch," he said.

Having successfully been deposited in space by the Vulcan rocket, JFK's DNA and the other remains alongside it will now travel into deep space and enter a long, slow orbit around the sun that could last for millions — if not billions — of years. 

How Did JFK's DNA End Up in Space?

Celestis' mission, dubbed the Enterprise Flight, is designed to carry small samples of more than 250 people's remains and DNA into deep space as a form of memorial unbound by Earth's gravitational pull. It carries some of the Star Trek creator Roddenberry’s remains on board as well as those of some of the actors who helped bring his vision of a utopian future of interplanetary cooperation and racial harmony to life, inspiring generations of scientists and artists in the process: James Doohan (Scotty), Nichelle Nichols (Uhura) and Jackson DeForest Kelley (Dr. ‘Bones’ McCoy) all had some of their remains included. 

But these fictional space explorers are joined by two people who had a very real role in making spaceflight possible: John F. Kennedy and Dwight D. Eisenhower. 

Locks of hair from JFK and Eisenhower, as well as George Washington, were obtained via an anonymous benefactor who had purchased them, in turn, through famed hair collector Louis Mushro, Chafer told The Messenger.

"In George Washington's time, people that admired a celebrity, there was no such thing as autographs, and people asked for hair samples," explained Chafter. "It was a little bit of a coincidence that [Kennedy and Eisenhower] were available and donated by the gentleman that preferred to be anonymous."

They were joined by hundreds of less celebrated folks: former astronauts, software engineers and military veterans, beloved parents and children, tractor drivers and lawyers. 

"By far, the vast majority of people that fly with us are everyday folks," said Chafer. "Clearly they love space, were lifelong Star Trek fans, worked in the aerospace industry, were military veterans. But we also have restaurant owners, truck drivers. And really for us, you don't have to have $25 million to go into space symbolically. You can assist in this outward expansion by choosing us as a memorial spaceflight."

Celestis has been in operation since 1997, but as the private space industry has expanded, so have they: In their first 20 years of operation, they completed 14 launches, but have already taken part in 10 missions in the five years since, with five more scheduled before the end of 2026. Some will take remains into orbit around the Earth: others aim for final resting places far beyond our planet, including another mission to the moon. 

But as the Peregrine mission made abundantly clear, going to the moon is hard. Luckily, Celestis offers a "full service guarantee," and keeps backups of the remains on hand and includes free passage on the next voyage, in case of a mishap on the way to eternity. 

"We go to great lengths first to educate our clients on the risks of spaceflight," said Chafer. "It is rocket science."