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.
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Llanelli Crematorium's website says a service of this kind could cost you £2,950. Alternatively, the 'Voyager' package, which costs £495, involves a ceremonial portion of a loved one's ashes to travel into space, to the same height as the scattering launch, before being returned to their families on Earth in a premium miniature urn.
Westerleigh Group is one of the largest independent owners and operators of crematoria and cemeteries, including sites in Aberystwyth and Llanelli. The business has entered into a partnership with Aura Flights - a world-leading space scattering service, to make these new initiatives possible. Kimberley Waters, manager of Llanelli Crematorium, said she hoped these new options would create "uniquely personal memorials" for loved ones.
She said: "We are always looking to expand the range of memorial options available to the bereaved in order to give them the widest possible choice and help them to create uniquely personal memorials for their loved ones. Aura Flights offer something that is truly out of this world.
"For centuries, man has looked up at the stars and dreamed of going into space; while few of us ever get to do this during our lifetimes, there is now the option to travel into space for your final journey. Within days of the ashes being scattered, families will receive a personalised memorial video showing their loved one’s final journey among the stars."
