只需要12000美元,你就可以長眠於月球

You might not make it to heaven in the afterlife, but you sure can go as far as the Moon. Celestial funerals are now a possibility, thanks to San Francisco startup Elysium Space. For a ginormous fee of about $12,000, the company will privately transport your cremated remains to the moon!

在來生裏，你不一定去得了天堂，但你現在卻能到月球那麼遠的地方。有了舊金山的"極樂世界"公司，"天葬"服務現在已成爲可能。花費12000美元，該公司便會單獨將您火化後的遺物運送至月球。

Founded by former NASA engineer Thomas Civeit, Elysium boasts of bringing space and funeral experts together to provide the unique service. "Families now have the historic opportunity to commemorate their departed loved ones every night through the everlasting splendour and soft illumination of the Earth's closest companion: the moon," they stated in a press release.

"極樂世界"公司最初由美國航空航天局（NASA）前任工程師托馬斯·西威特創立，該公司將宇宙專家和喪葬專家集合起來，定製提供這種特殊服務。"很多家庭現在就有這種歷史性的珍貴機會，來紀念他們逝去的親人，每晚向外看看月亮，這個離地球最近的伴侶，看看它永恆且柔和的光輝。"他們在新聞發佈會上強調道。

Although the company was founded in 2013, the service only offered in August of this year, after Elysium managed to seal a deal with space logistics company Astrobotic Technology. They're currently taking orders, and the first batch of ashes will travel to the moon on Griffin Lander spacecraft – Astrobotic's inaugural lunar mission – in 2017.

雖然此公司2013年才成立，在他們與國際空間物流公司Astrobotic Technology達成祕密協議後，今年八月推出此項服務。他們現在已經開始接受訂單，第一批骨灰會於2017年通過Astrobotic的首次登月任務，到達月球上的格里芬着陸航天器。

According to Civeit, the families who are opting for the service usually have a special connection with space or the night sky. In fact, that's how the idea for the service came about. Elysium's initial plan was to run a service called Shooting Star Memorial, in which ashes are briefly sent into orbit and return to Earth as a bright streak across the atmosphere. But then they were approached with an unusual request by US Army infantry soldier Steven Jenks.

西威特表示，選擇這項服務的家庭通常都對太空和夜空有着特殊的感情。事實上，這也是這個點子最初萌發的背景。"極樂世界"最初的計劃其實是開始一項名爲"流星紀念"的服務，將骨灰運送到軌道然後劃過大氣層降落到地球上。但後來美國步兵史蒂芬·詹克思找到他們，並提出了新想法。

Jenks, who lost his mother to lung cancer, wanted to send her remains to the moon because it was a special symbol of their relationship. She would always write to him: "No matter how lonely you feel and how far you are, always look to the Moon and know I am with you. I love you to the Moon and back, Love, Mom." So when he learned that Astrobotic was set up to send various payloads to the Moon, he asked if they could take his mother's ashes too.

詹克思的母親因爲肺癌而離世，之後，他想將他母親的遺體送到月球上，因爲月亮是他們母子情的特殊象徵。她經常給他在信裏寫道："不管你感覺多寂寞，離我多麼遠，別忘了時常擡頭看看月亮，就知道我一直在你身邊。我對你的愛，好比從地球到月亮再回來那麼綿長。愛你的，媽媽。"所以後來當他知道Astrobotic公司準備開始大批運送物質到月球時，他詢問了能否將她媽媽的骨灰一起帶上月球。

"It was perfect timing," Civeit said. "Steven Jenks told his touching story to Astrobotic as he wanted to have the ashes of his mother delivered to the moon. Astrobotic does not provide such services to individuals but we were signing our contract with Astrobotic at the time and we were honored to make Steven's wish come true." Jenks, of course, is happy to know that his mother's final resting place will be on the moon. "I will know she is looking down on my family and maybe they won't feel so alone," he said.

"這時間特別合適，"西威特解釋道。"史蒂芬向Astrobotic講述了他動人的故事，希望他們能將她的骨灰帶上月球。雖然Astrobotic那時並不向私人提供此項服務，但我們已經與其簽訂過合同，所以我們很榮幸能讓史蒂芬的願望成真。"後來，史蒂芬知道他母親最後的安息地在月球也非常開心。"我知道她一直在默默注視着我們家，可能這樣他們也就感覺沒那麼寂寞，"他向我們說道。

For the first 50 signups, the ‘Lunar Memorials' will cost $9,950. After that, the price will be hiked to $11,950. Families that book a spot on the mission for a Lunar Memorial will be sent a kit including an engravable metal box, into which they can place approximately one gram of cremated remains. Approximately 100 remains will be sent to the moon in the second half of 2017. Reservations for the Shooting Star option are a lot cheaper, at $1,990. The company plans to launch its first 100 ash capsules into space later this Fall – they will orbit the earth for several months before falling back and burning up through the atmosphere – like shooting stars.

第一批報名的有約50人，"月球紀念"大概會花費9950美元。不過在那之後，價格一路飆升到11950美元。已經報名預定的家庭會收到一套工具，裏面包括可刻字的金屬盒，可以在裏面放置大約一克的火化遺體。在2017年下半年，大約100位人的骨灰將被送到月球。不過流星項目就要便宜很多，花費大約1990美元。該公司準備在這個秋天向太空發射100枚骨灰膠囊，他們會繞着地球軌道航行數月，然後下降，在大氣層中燃燒，就像流星一樣。

"People often think about technology when they think about space," Civeit said. "However, space has other inherent values, like the beauty of the night sky, which can be used to create poetic memorial services. The idea that humankind can look up at the Moon and poetically commune with its ancestors is probably as old as the human culture itself."

"人們在想到太空時總是想到這種科技，"西威特補充道。"不過，太空有它別的內在價值，比如夜空的美麗，它啓發我們，讓我們提供這種富有詩意的紀念服務。人們擡擡頭，看看月亮，與他們的祖先交流的想法可能已經和人類文化一樣古老了。"

Once this service "takes off", the company has plans to extend beyond the solar system. They want to launch a Milky Way Memorial that will send human remains into deep space. The launch date and price are yet to be announced, but it won't be long considering that the Shooting Star service is already turning a profit.

一旦這項服務"起飛"，此公司計劃將服務範圍擴展到整個太陽系。他們想開展一個銀河紀念服務，將人類遺體送到更遠的外太空。雖然發射的日期和價格目前還未定，不過考慮到目前流星服務項目已經開始盈利，估計此類計劃也離我們不遠了。