Well, it finally happened.
De’s DNA (and hundreds of other souls’ DNA) are in outer space today, on the way to their destinations, Tranquility’s to the Moon, Enterprise’s to orbit the sun as the first human “outpost” in our solar system.
I watched it live with a combination of pride and sadness/nostalgia.
Pride because I helped make De’s journey possible by donating a lock of his hair; sadness/nostalgia because I was saying goodbye to him … again.
You can watch the launch by clicking on this link: https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-67910757
I have mementos of my contribution.
Here are images of what Celestis sent me:
a vial of De’s DNA,
the Certificate of Authenticity,
the box it came in,
and the top of the box that contains De’s DNA.
*sigh*
I also have a remaining lock of De’s hair (about half of what you see below).
Celestis told me not to send it all, and I didn’t really want to, in case this mission went sideways, so they would have another shot at getting him into space:
Today I feel happy and sad. But mostly relieved.
This launch took a long time to happen, so I was delighted to see it finally take off, as were the family members and loved ones who sent DNA for this purpose.
So, it’s a done deal. Our loved ones’ DNA will “represent” humankind wherever they end up. And — based on hearing so many fond testimonials about these hundreds of individuals — they represent the cream of the crop.
And — this is speculative theory and presently science fiction! — if their DNA ever gets cloned by a civilization (ours or another) and their memories can be retrieved from their DNA (genetic memory perfectly restored), they will mirror our basic decency and skillsets very well.
Godspeed, De.
1 P.M. UPDATE: The lunar mission has failed. I don’t know, yet, what that means for the Enterprise leg of the mission, but if its module separated BEFORE the anomaly happened, the Enterprise part of the mission should still be alive and well.
My heart aches for the loved ones of the Tranquility/moon mission. And the DNA of the three American presidents was onboard for that mission, too.
This story is still unfolding. I will update again later.
2 P.M. Looks like they may have pulled a rabbit out of a hat and fixed the anomaly, so the moon landing may happen as scheduled. WOO HOO!
This is edge-of-your-seat breaking news!
4PM Eastern Time: The moon landing is delayed… it MAY still be possible, but isn’t a certainty.
UPDATE: 4 PM PACIFIC TIME
CONFIRMED: The Enteprise mission is still on, it was not hobbled by today’s glitch, and all is well.
Good morning Kris,
