Does Space burials sounds crazy to you? Then you may not be a big fan of science fictions or a Japanese. According to a study conducted by NASA many science fiction fans prefer their final rights to be held on space and you can read more details about the research over here on NASA website. The other people who fancy about space burials are Japanese Buddhists.

For those who are not aware of Space burials, it’s a procedure in which a small sample of the cremated ashes of the deceased are launched into space using spacecraft. The spacecraft will remain in orbit around the Earth or other planets  for decades and eventually burning up in the atmosphere.

Celestis, an US based company, is pioneer in memorial spaceflight business and so far they have conducted a total of 10 space burials. Few of the famous people buried in space are Gene Roddenberry(creator of Star Trek),  Gerard K. O’Neill (space physicist), Clyde Tombaugh (astronomer and discoverer of Pluto)  and complete list is available on this Wikipedia page

In the coming months Celestis have planned for a  launch of its latest memorial spacecraft and you can send your loved one’s remains for just $3000. Once they put the ashes on space they will also let you track the location of the spacecraft in orbit using a real time feed.

Story via BBC and cc image credit: flickr/gsfc