A celestial send-off ended in saltwater after a capsule carrying 166 people’s ashes on a journey to space crashed into the Pacific Ocean. The capsule was launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket as part of “Mission Possible”—a program led by German start-up The Exploration Company— and completed two successful orbits around Earth. But as it began its descent back to Earth, it “encountered an issue” and crashed into the sea, “dispersing its contents,” according to Celestis, the Texas-based company behind the memorial spaceflight. “Though we currently believe that we cannot return the flight capsules, we hope families will find some peace in knowing their loved ones were part of a historic journey, launched into space, orbited Earth, and are now resting in the vastness of the Pacific,” the company said in a statement. Human remains weren’t the only thing hitching a ride. Cannabis plant matter and seeds were also aboard the capsule as part of a citizen science project called Martian Grow, Popular Mechanics reported.
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