Paraphrasing from the article, shortened again, placing human remains and other things could be perceived as discards, is tantamount to desecration. In respo

Paraphrasing from the article, shortened again, placing human remains and other things could be perceived as discards, is tantamount to desecration. In response, the President of the Navajo Nation, Buu Nygren, has filed a formal objection with NASA and the U.S. Department of Transportation over what he calls an act of desecration. "It is crucial to emphasize that the moon holds a sacred position in many Indigenous cultures, including ours," Nygren wrote in a letter dated Dec. 21. *"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."* It seems like human remains can get news attention, and their objection lies more with other aspects--if I were pressed to guess, against commercial use of space. This article is about the NASA response, and links to an earlier article [1] about the complaint According to Nygren, this has been an ongoing concern that "echoes back to the late 1990s, when the National Aeronautics and Space Administration sent the Lunar Prospector, carrying the remains of [geologist] 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 further missions carrying human remains to the moon." and Nygren reminded parties that NASA had previously committed to notify the Navajo Nation regarding memorial flights and that the Biden administration promised to consult on tribal concerns of this nature, as outlined [2] in the Memorandum on Tribal Consultation and Strengthening Nation-to-Nation Relationships on Jan. 26, 2021. "This memorandum reinforced the commitment to Executive Order 13175 of November 6, 2000," Nygren explained. "Additionally, the Memorandum of Understanding Regarding Interagency Coordination and Collaboration for the Protection of Indigenous Sacred Sites, which you and several other members of the Administration signed in November 2021, further underscores the requirement for such consultation." It might be an interesting route people attempt to block some uses on religious, broadly ethic-aesthetic, grounds. Seems like a long battle, I wonder what political angle will side with, and use / empower the argument. [1]: https://www.space.com/moon-navajo-nation-objection-human-remains-ula-vulcan-centaur-celestis-elysium-space https://www.space.com/moon-navajo-nation-objection-human-rem... [2]: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/26/memorandum-on-tribal-consultation-and-strengthening-nation-to-nation-relationships/ https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-action...