You can now have your ashes or those of your loved one scattered in space at two crematoriums in Wales. Aberystwyth Crematorium & Cemetery in Ceredigion and Llanelli Crematorium in Carmarthenshire, which are a part of the Westerleigh Group, can now send someone's ashes 100,000 feet into the atmosphere.
The crematoriums can offer two services that can either release the ashes into the atmosphere or to undertake a return voyage. The 'Memorial Launch' service involves ashes being placed inside what's called a 'scatter vessel', which is fitted to a space-capable biodegradable balloon filled with renewable hydrogen gas.
The ashes are then released in a gentle cascade around 100,000 feet above the Earth and spend the next three to six months orbiting the globe, according to Westerleigh Group. They will then re-enter the atmosphere, where they seed the formation of clouds and fall back to Earth as raindrops and snowflakes all over the world, according to the group. The ascent and release of the cascades are captured on video for families to keep. You can get more story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here.
