IN a world first, the DNA of four U.S. presidents will soon be rocketed into space.
DNA samples from George Washington, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, and Ronald Regan are set to be launched above Earth later this year.
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Hair samples allegedly authenticated to be from the presidents will be on the upcoming Enterprise Flight.
Houston memorial spaceflight company Celestis, Inc. is behind the space launch.
It’s claiming that this will be “humanity’s first deep space time capsule.”
Celestis’s spacecraft will also contain the cremated remains of over 200 people.
Other famous names will be onboard, including Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry.
The remains of original Star Trek cast members Nichelle Nichols, James Doohan, Majel Barrett Roddenberry, and DeForest Kelley will also be on the flight.
Apollo astronaut Philip Chapman is another name on the list.
The presidential hair samples were originally from the Louis Mushro collection.
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They’re said to have Certificates of Authenticity and were gifted to Celestis by an anonymous donor for the purpose of being included on the deep space mission.
Celestis say Louis Mushro was a well-known celebrity hair collector and appraiser who built a global reputation as an expert in this field before his passing in 2014.
The hair samples have been in a climate-controlled facility for several years in preparation for this mission.
Charles M. Chafer, Co-Founder & CEO of Celestis, said: “Our Enterprise Flight is a historic mission by any standard.
“The overarching goal of Celestis is to assist human expansion throughout the solar system.
“By adding the DNA of these American icons to Enterprise, we establish a precursor for future human missions, and add to the historical record of human exploration of deep space.”
Later this year, a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Vulcan Centaur rocket will lift off from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Its job is to put a lunar lander on course for the Moon and continue into an orbit around the sun.
Once the Centaur V stage has achieved this orbit, the Enterprise Flight will be renamed Enterprise Station.
It will then become humankind’s furthest outpost.
Celestis is hoping the capsule will be discovered one day
It said the craft will stay there “perhaps awaiting discovery by a distant in time civilization.”
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