Space Tech Company Unveils Plans For Funerals On Mars

A company specializing in space technology unveiled its plans for funerals that would be held on Mars by human colonies. The plans include using a special garment for the dead and a process that would recycle the corpse of the deceased.

The concept of holding funerals on Mars was developed by a company known as Analogs LLC, which participated in a simulated Mars mission in Hawaii last month. According to the company, holding funerals for those who will die on Mars will not only honor the deceased person but will also help in the grieving process.

One of the main components of the Martian funeral is a special garment designed for the deceased. For this aspect, the company’s CEO J.J. Hastings partnered with fashion designer Pia Interlandi to develop the Martian death garment, which is part of the latter’s “Garments of the Grave” collection.

The special clothing designed by Interlandi consists of four layers that are all 100 percent biodegradable. The entire garment looks like a tunic with layers of wraps. Each of the layers is made from silkworm proteins. Making the layers biodegradable would allow the entire garment to decompose with the body to minimize waste on Mars.

According to Interlandi, she decided to make a multi-layered garment to pay tribute to the funeral and grieving rituals of various cultures. She noted that dressing up the deceased in various layers would allow the grieving parties to get closer to the body.

“The closing of the coffin is often too abrupt and too hard and too sudden,” she told Space.com. “We need to have a process where we can slowly veil and conceal the body [so] that it's a softer, more gentle kind of fading out.”

After the funeral, the corpse of the deceased will then undergo a special process that would essentially recycle it. Although Hastings did not go into detail regarding the actual recycling process, she noted that it would decompose the body and turn it into raw materials.

Since the body is made up of various vital minerals such as salt, carbon and water, extracting these elements through recycling will be very important on Mars. Although the entire process seems macabre, minimizing waste will be an important aspect of a Mars colony’s sustainability.