Hair samples of three US presidents are being sent into space. Here's why

The hair samples of three US presidents, including John F Kennedy, will go into deep space by the end of 2023.

According to the Houston Chronicle, hair samples from presidents John F Kennedy, Dwight D Eisenhower and George Washington will head into deep space in a Vulcan rocket of the United Launch Alliance before the month ends. Celestis, a company specialising in sending cremated remains and DNA samples to outer space, will organise the mission.

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Colby Youngblood, the president of Celestis, told the Chronicle, "It is absolutely feasible, from a scientific point, that future researchers can find this flight capsule and study what's in it."

In a statement released in 2023, Celestis said that sending DNA samples of late presidents to space could help people learn more about US history in the future. "Off-world DNA storage allows the human genome to be preserved for thousands of years in space without degradation," the company stated. "This means it is possible it could be discovered later, like a cosmic time capsule. It could allow future generations to learn more about the US forefathers millennia into the future," the statement read further.

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The DNA samples of the three US presidents will be on the Enterprise Flight of Celestis, named in honour of the TV seriesStar Trek."We feel it's an honourable tribute to those three presidents to put them on this first historic mission," said Youngblood. The flight will also carry the ashes of the series creator Gene Roddenberry, his wife Majel Barrett Roddenberry and a DNA sample of their son.

Charles M Chafer, the co-founder and CEO of Celestis, said in a statement in 2022, "We're very pleased to be fulfilling, with this mission, a promise I made to Majel Barrett Roddenberry in 1997 that one day we would fly her and husband Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry together on a deep space memorial spaceflight."

The official website of Celestis said the mission will "launch over 150 flight capsules containing cremated remains (ashes), DNA samples, and messages of greetings from clients worldwide on an endless journey in interplanetary space."

The flight, earlier scheduled to leave on the morning of December 24, might get delayed, according to the post on X by the CEO of United Launch Alliance.

Previously, Celestis has sent DNA and cremated remains into space. The company markets itself as helping families "commemorate the lives of their departed loved one" through memorial spaceflights starting at nearly $3,000.

(With inputs from agencies)