The United Launch Alliance has taken the Vulcan Centaur launch vehicle to the launch pad, whose launch is scheduled for 8 January. The launch window is limited and the alliance plans to have 5-6 more launches this year alone, so the launch is certain to happen. This means that the US authorities have ignored the demands of the Navajo Indians to recognise the Moon as a sacred place for the Native American peoples.
The rocket’s payload is the Peregrine lunar module from space contractor Astrobotic. It fulfils a contract with Celestis and Elysium Space, which offer services for the burial of human ashes on the Earth’s natural satellite. Due to extensive publicity about the service, the Navajo Indians found out about it and filed a collective protest.
The essence of the protest is that in Navajo culture the Moon is a place with a special, sacred status. Visiting it is not forbidden, but intentionally leaving what could be interpreted as “waste and rubbish” there is not allowed – it is considered desecration. Human remains clearly fall under this definition, so the head of the Navajo tribal alliance, Buu Nigren, filed a formal protest with NASA and the U.S. Department of Transportation.
