What would happen if a Jewish astronaut dies on the Moon?
The success of the Odysseus mission, the moon lander that reached our only natural satellite on February 22, 2024, reactivated numerous doubts about how human life would develop when a very possible colonization of space begins, including some religious questions.
The reference is not whimsical: a predecessor of Odysseus, the moon lander Peregrine, carried on board the cremated remains of about seventy people (and a dog) to give them a «space burial.»
Peregrine was launched from Earth on January 8, 2024 amid several strong ethical and religious controversies, including objections to the transportation of the ashes.
The harshest criticism came from the Navajo, the largest federally recognized tribe in the United States. The Moon, said the president of that nation, Buu Nygren, «occupies a sacred place in Navajo cosmology.»
Nygren stressed that the idea of transforming it «into a resting place for human remains is deeply disturbing and unacceptable to our people and many other tribal nations.»
A very expensive «space burial»
In any case, these “space burials” did not take place. The Peregrine suffered a loss of propellant material shortly after separating from the Vulcan rocket that had sent it the way to the Moon. The ship remained in orbit for six days and upon entering back into the Earth’s atmosphere it burned completely, including all its cargo.
But the controversy remained. To begin with, the production and management of the Peregrine was carried out by a private company, Astrobotic Technology (the same happened with Odysseus, developed by Intuitive Machines), and neither NASA nor the US government has much power over what is carried out aboard the lunar probes.
It is, as has been the case for several years now with space exploration, another case of business as usual. For example, the relatives of the people whose remains were cremated and placed on Peregrine paid about $13,000 for each «space burial.»
Even NASA had to pay: in its case, $108 million just to transport the equipment to carry out six scientific experiments on board the Peregrine.
“Moon water” for a drink
Astrobotic made money with the «space burials» and with a company that shipped a can of its powdered sports drink on the Peregrine… to see if future astronauts would be able to mix it with «lunar water.»
Back to the problem of human remains on the Moon, in the midst of the controversy with the Navajo, two experts in religious affairs shared an analysis of the future problems that could arise on that front.
Burial rituals from the world’s main religions «were shaped by millennia of tradition and practice,» recalled professors Joanne Pierce and Mathew Schmalz of the College of the Holy Cross, a private American Catholic university in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Although the ashes did not reach their destination, their presence on the spacecraft «raised some important religious questions», especially when «beliefs about the contaminating nature of the corpse, the acceptability of cremation, and the sacred character of the Moon vary between traditions,» Pierce noted.
Ancient and strict rituals
For the Jewish people, for example, funeral rituals are very strict and are generally followed by a large majority of those who profess the religion or feel part of the Jewish culture or tradition.
As is well known, Jews usually bury their dead as soon as possible. In the supposed case of a Jewish astronaut or a future pioneer employee who works for a company in an office on the Moon: does the surface of our satellite count as acceptable soil to be buried in?
And who will recite the traditional funeral prayers? Who will carry out the solemn ritual of washing the body of the deceased? Will there be Jewish cemeteries available on the Moon?
For Muslims, on the other hand, cremation is strictly prohibited. Islam dictates that, after death, the deceased must be ritually washed, wrapped in a shroud, and buried in a cemetery as soon as possible.
Pierce and Schmalz noted that in 2007, as Malaysia’s first Islamic astronaut was preparing to take off, the Southeast Asian nation’s space agency «issued religious directives on burial rituals for Muslims in space.»
Those instructions established that if it was not possible to bring the body back to the Earth, then it should be «buried» in space after a brief ceremony. «And if there was no water available for ceremonial rituals, then ‘holy dust’ should be swept over the face and hands ‘even if there is no dust’ on the space station.»
There are no laws on the Moon
Even if they still seem like science fiction, these issues are more urgent than ever. In fact, the Peregrine and the Odysseus are part of the process to return humans to the Moon and, from there, at some point, perhaps to Mars.
NASA’s program is known as Artemis. The first mission, without a crew, was carried out in 2022, the second, with a human team on board, will take off sometime in 2025. And Artemis 3, it is expected, will take astronauts back to the Moon in 2026.
The Artemis missions will bring humanity even closer to space. But in a report on the website Space.com, researcher Monisha Ravisetti pointed out that, at least for now, there are no laws on the Moon.
«With the success of Odysseus, we now know that both space agencies and non-space agencies can start populating the moon with various things they wish to send up there», she wrote.
«With space privatization accelerating, the ethical and legal maze deepens» outside our planet, said Professor Carol Oliver, of the University of New South Wales, in Sydney, Australia.
Unexplored issues in space
Oliver also said that «we cannot turn back the clock on private space enterprise», like Astrobotic and their «burials» on the Moon, «nor should we.»
However, she pointed out, the failed Peregrine mission, «with ashes and vanity payloads exemplifies the unexplored questions in the legal and ethical infrastructure to support commercial activities» in space.
So this is a good time, added Oliver, to «pause for thought on future commercialization such as mining asteroids and the eventual colonization of space». Or think about how to reconcile, once again, religion and science.
