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(123rf) |
Korean space tech startup Space Star said Wednesday it will send the DNA of famous mountaineer Um Hong-gil to space, honoring his world record to have climbed the 16 highest peaks on Earth.
After swabbing Um’s DNA from his mouth, the company plans to seal it in a capsule and send it to space by the end of this year.
“Along with other world renowned celebrities, Um will be the first Korean celebrity to have his DNA sent to space. It is meaningful in the sense that their DNA will permanently float in deep space,” said an official from Space Star.
The celebrities’ DNA capsules will be loaded in a rocket launched by United Launch Alliance, a joint company between Boeing and Lockheed Martin Corp., the company said.
The spacecraft called Enterprise Mission, also carries capsules filled with memory chips containing messages from Star Trek fans, according to the official.
Space Star plans to begin services to launch a portion of local celebrities’ cremated remains into outer space as well.
Launched in 2021, Space Star provides outer-space experiences with Celestis, the US based outer-spatial funerary company.
By Byun Hye-jin (
hyejin2@heraldcorp.com)
