The 86-year-old physics professor Kenneth Ohm is getting ready to send his DNA to the moon, motivated by his love of space. What motivates him to do it, though? With the expectation that another civilization will find his DNA in due time. Yeah, you heard it correctly.
From an early age on, Ohm was captivated by the cosmos. He went so far as to apply to NASA to become an astronaut. But his 6 feet 2 inch height got him denied. According to the New York Post, he taught for half a century and wrote multiple books about the moon and Midwestern life due to his insatiable fascination with space.
While his DNA would be resting near the moon’s southern pole, he told the New York Times that it’s possible someone may look at that point and think, “Old Ken has his DNA up there.”
Nevertheless, his true motive for transmitting his DNA is to ensure that, in the event that any artifact from this or another civilization is uncovered thirty thousand or forty thousand years from now, they may be able to utilize it “for something extremely cool.”
Additionally, he has entertained the notion of an intergalactic zoo housing a contained Ken Ohm or, even more terrifying, a swarm of thousands of reanimated Ken Ohms scattered across the cosmos.
Celestis, Ohm’s rocket service that specializes in launching human remains and ashes into orbit for prices beginning at $2,495 per kilogram, is his latest aspiration.
The website claims that Celestis was the first and most recognizable company in the world to offer commemorative spaceflights. Celestis has assisted families worldwide in commemorating the lives of their dead loved ones through 17 missions since 1997.
