US man to send his DNA to space in hopes of being found by other civilisation
86-year-old Kenneth Ohm, a physics professor, will be sending his DNA to the moon by the help of with Celestis.
Driven by his passion for space, 86-year-old Kenneth Ohm, a physics professor, is all set to send his DNA to the moon. But why does he want to do that? In the hope that one day his DNA will be discovered by some other civilisation. Yes, you read that right.
Ohm's fascination with space began when he was young. He even tried to become an astronaut with NASA. However, he was rejected due to his 6 feet 2 inch height. But, his enduring fascination with space led him to write several books about the moon and Midwestern life and to teach for 50 years, as reported by the New York Post.
He told the New York Times that when his DNA would be resting near the southern pole of the moon, it could be possible that one day someone would look at that spot and think, “Old Ken has his DNA up there.”
However, the real reason why he is sending his DNA is in case, 30,000 or 40,000 years from now, if any remnant of this civilisation or another civilisation discovers his genetic blueprints, they could use it "for something extremely cool."
He has also thought about the possibility of an interstellar zoo where a caged Ken Ohm might be found, or, much scarier, a swarm of thousands of reconstituted Ken Ohms dispersing over the universe.
Ohm is striving for the stars with Celestis, which specialises in sending Earthling remains and ashes on a rocket voyage to space at charges starting at $2,495.
According to the website “Celestis is the pioneer and iconic global leader in providing memorial spaceflights. Through 17 missions since 1997, Celestis has helped families the world over commemorate the lives of their departed loved ones.”