Saw this story this morning. Headline:

Navajo Nation President Objects to NASA Sending Cremated Human Remains to the Moon

Here is the full story.

Some excerpts: “It is crucial to emphasize that the moon holds a sacred position in many Indigenous cultures, including ours,” President Nygren wrote. “We view it as a part of our spiritual heritage, an object of reverence and respect. The act of depositing human remains and other materials, which could be perceived as discards in any other location, on the Moon is tantamount to desecration of this sacred space.”

“We believe that both NASA and the USDOT should have engaged in consultation with us before agreeing to contract with a company that transports human remains to the Moon or authorizing a launch carrying such payloads,” he wrote.”

I’ll assert, straight up, that this guy doesn’t believe a word he is saying. This is a naked power play. Apparently, NASA was stupid enough to go along with it in the past:

“He said this situation “echoes back to the late 1990s, when the National Aeronautics and Space Administration sent the Lunar Prospector, carrying the remains of (former astronaut) Eugene Shoemaker, to the Moon.”

“At the time, Navajo Nation President Albert Hale voiced our objections regarding this action. In response, NASA issued a formal apology and promised consultation with tribes before authorizing any further missions carrying human remains to the Moon,” President Nygren wrote.”

Maybe someone at NASA was smart enough to pretend contrition with no intent to actually give in.

So what do you think? Does this guy really believe what he says, or is he as cynical as I believe?