America’s private moon mission faces Navajo Nation objection

A private company launched a rocket to the moon in the early hours of Monday. It will cover a long journey, and if the spacecraft arrives at its destination on February 23, it will become the first US spacecraft in more than five decades to land on the lunar surface.

The powerful Vulcan rocket launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, belongs to United Launch Alliance (ULA), a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin. 

The rocket features engines from Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin and carries the Peregrine lunar lander built by Astrobotic. Though a feat, America’s largest Native American tribe—the Navajo Nation—has been opposing the launch due to its payload.

The Vulcan rocket carries five NASA experiments and several payloads. Some of these loads include cremated human remains that will be placed on the lunar surface as part of space memorial services offered by companies Celestis and Elysium Space.

This is concerning to the Navajo people and other Indigenous tribes since the moon is considered sacred in their beliefs. “The placement of human remains on the moon is a profound desecration of this celestial body revered by our people,” said Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren.

In a last-minute meeting, the White House and NASA heard the Navajo Nation’s reasons to delay the launch but said they cannot regulate what cargo goes to the moon in private missions, raising future concerns of controversy as the government space organization will be relying on private companies for lunar missions.