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Television Space

The Ashes of Four 'Star Trek' Actors Will Be Carried Into Deep Space (cnn.com) 65

Posted by EditorDavid from the final-frontiers dept.
United Launch Alliance has been developing a heavy-lift space vehicle since 2014 (with investment from the U.S. military) called the Vulcan Centaur.

So CNN reports that the ashes of the late Star Trek actress Nichelle Nichols "will head to deep space on a Vulcan rocket." Nichols' cremated remains will be aboard the first Celestis Voyager Memorial Spaceflight, which will launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Celestis, Inc., is a private company that conducts memorial spaceflights. Among the remains also aboard the flight will be the ashes of "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry; his wife, Majel Barrett-Roddenberry, who played various roles in the show and films; and James Doohan, who played Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in the films and TV series....

The spaceflight will travel beyond NASA's James Webb Space Telescope and into interplanetary deep space. In addition to cremated remains, capsules onboard will also carry complete human genome DNA samples from willing participants.

People can participate in the flight — by having DNA or loved ones' remains in a spaceflight container — for a price starting at $12,500, and reservations close August 31. (Celestis offers other voyages that don't travel as far, but can cost less than $5,000.) Ahead of the flight's liftoff, Celestis will host a three-day event with mission briefings, an astronaut-hosted dinner, launch site tours, an on-site memorial service and launch viewing. All events will be shown via webcast, according to Celestis.
An announcement on the flight's site invites fans of Nichelle Nichols to "share your own story about how she inspired you and it will be sent into deep space aboard the first Celestis Voyager Memorial Spaceflight — the Enterprise Flight, launching later in 2022."
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The Ashes of Four 'Star Trek' Actors Will Be Carried Into Deep Space More

The Ashes of Four 'Star Trek' Actors Will Be Carried Into Deep Space

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  • Looking Good!!

  • The rest of the crew? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by freeze128 ( 544774 ) on Sunday August 28, 2022 @09:40AM (#62829613)
    Where are Leonard Nimoy and DeForest Kelley?

  • Send human DNA into deep space, are you KIDDING? Did nobody read the "The Dark Forest" (part of the "Three Body Problem" trilogy)? Or otherwise encounter the Dark Forest hypothesis as explanation for the Fermi Paradox?

    The Fermi Paradox is a recognition that there must be so many habitable planets in the vastness of the universe that it's just too improbable for there NOT to be a large number of instances where intelligent life arises. But if so, then why have we never heard from any?

    The Dark Forest idea

    • So if you encounter any other civilization, the only smart option is to try your best to exterminate it before it exterminates you.

      Ahhh... this brings up so many memories...
      1492 (America, Columbus)
      American frontier
      West vs East

      Looks like business as usual here on Earth, so we are going to thrive in the "dark forest".

    • Just because the human race seems to have evolved to become self-exterminating idiots doesn't mean other intelligent life in the Universe evolved the same way.

      • Itâ(TM)s game theory. Of all the civilizations that evolve, the aggressive ones will destroy the passive ones. Read about it. Hereâ(TM)s one reference among many:

        https://bigthink.com/surprisin... [bigthink.com]

        And it doesnâ(TM)t matter how aggressive we are if we are found by an older, stronger race they must wipe us out before we become strong enough to threaten them.

        • It's a theory that might as well be based on the notion that the Moon is made of cheese. Why anyone would take it seriously is beyond me.

          Maybe it's a sort of human-centric arrogance. It makes people feel like they're important and can affect the way of things. It's like a group of monkeys on a little island thinking that they're a potential threat to the Global American Empire.

          It's extremely unlikely that a neighboring alien civilization would be only barely more technologically advanced than us, to a point

          • Why anyone would take it seriously is beyond me.

            Have you considered radio waves?

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by drnb ( 2434720 )

            We literally cannot imagine what our descendants will be like in a million years

            Neither can the aliens. That's why you exterminate the primitive. Also given the inconvenience of the distances involved you exterminate as encountered. Keeping the local sphere of influence as clean as possible. Fewer unpleasant surprises this way.

            • This is idiotic.

              Again, you can't start off from a patently false premise and come up with something actionable. There is no forest. There are no tree trunks filling the universe that you can hide behind. We live on a bright beacon on a flat empty plain stretching to infinity. You can see much further than you can physically reach. Therefore, every alien civilization that could touch us must already know we're here. Yet we are still alive.

              • Re: (Score:2)

                by drnb ( 2434720 )

                This is idiotic. Again, you can't start off from a patently false premise and come up with something actionable. There is no forest. There are no tree trunks ...

                I said no such thing and they have no relationship to my argument. Care to respond with something other than a straw man?

                We live on a bright beacon on a flat empty plain stretching to infinity.

                That beacon has only been on for about a century.

                Therefore, every alien civilization that could touch us must already know we're here. Yet we are still alive.

                No, only those within about 100 light years would be aware of us and they would likely need many times 100 years to get here.

        • So what you're saying is that we should expect any alien race we encounter to act like Pak Protectors [wikipedia.org] and try to wipe us out preemptively before we're advanced enough to be a threat to them.

      • Looking at the only data point you have is, generally, the right way to bet about outcomes. It's not inevitably correct, but it's one of the more credible solutions to questions raised by the Drake Equation. Many solutions to that solution guess that there should be many technological civilizations within range of our radio telescopes for us to notice, and lead to a logical followup question of "why is it so quiet out there". One possibility is that technological civilizations are very short lived.

      • Just because the human race seems to have evolved to become self-exterminating idiots doesn't mean other intelligent life in the Universe evolved the same way.

        We are not talking self-exterminating, we are talking other-exterminating, exterminating the competition to protect/promote our progeny. This is something we see in many species on earth.

        Chemistry seems the same in space. Why would biological imperatives not be the same? Because you saw a TV show written by idealists is not a good rebuttal.

      • Just because the human race seems to have evolved to become self-exterminating idiots doesn't mean other intelligent life in the Universe evolved the same way.

        It does not matter if not all intelligent life thinks that way. The point is the intelligent life that survives may be more likely to think that way. Those with this tendency will kill, or force into hiding, those who do not have the tendency.

        Its basically like pacifism. Pacifism only works if the pacifists are fortunate enough to be protected by non-pacifist friends.

    • The Three Body Problem series is a work of fiction based on a fictional premise.

      In reality it's not possible for us to hide our existence because the "signal" produced by the Earth itself is much louder than anything our current technology can produce, intentionally or not. Observing extrasolar planets is a far easier thing to do than interstellar communication/travel, and this simple fact entirely breaks the plot of TTBP.

      Our tech can now detect exoplanet atmospheres, and we can conceive of space-based tele

    • Your point makes zero sense. You're using a novel to try and define reality. Always a terrible idea. But let's go with it for a moment. A small amount of ashes being thrown into space isn't what's going to be noticed. If you're worried about us being found, it's already way too late. Voyager 1 and 2 for one thing. Not to mention the real issue which is the absolutely insane amount of radio and other signals we're broadcasting. Spend a little time researching that and you'll realize how ridiculous being conc

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Askmum ( 1038780 )
      But space is infinite so the chances of finding anything you are looking for are 0.
    • Those are ashes. There is no DNA, human or otherwise.

    • Send human DNA into deep space, are you KIDDING?

      DNA is not a problem. It is moving much slower than the radio waves. And the DNA is likely quite nicely confined to the solar system by gravity.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by drnb ( 2434720 )

      So if you encounter any other civilization, the only smart option is to try your best to exterminate it before it exterminates you.

      Well that's how bears, dolphins, and various other earth bound species act. Kill the children of others to increase the survivability of their offspring. So yeah, the prudent action is to go all momma-bear.

  • Vulcan Centaur isn't likely to fly this year. Still too many problems with the BE-4 engine from Blue Origin. MAYBE next year but I wouldn't bet on it.
  • with sending a few ashes up tagging along with other flights for people Nichelle Nichols, but for sheer vanity firing rockets off so rich people can generate even more CO2 just seems the height of hypocrisy. Right up there with crypto. I've said it before. If we are in a effin crises for climate change, ACT LIKE IT.
  • When clones of these folks return at some future date promising peace and prosperity from our new alien overlords, the future generations will know who to blame at least!

  • The headline:

    The Ashes of Four 'Star Trek' Actors Will Be Carried Into Deep Space

    Doesn't match the text:

    Nichols' cremated remains will be aboard the first Celestis Voyager Memorial Spaceflight, which will launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Celestis, Inc., is a private company that conducts memorial spaceflights. Among the remains also aboard the flight will be the ashes of "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry; his wife, Majel Barrett-Roddenberry, who played various roles in the show and films; and James Doohan, who played Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in the films and TV series....

    Gene Roddenberry is not an actor and did not appear in Star Trek AFAIK.

  • No Leonard Nimoy?!

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