Bizarre plans announced by a Russian cyrogenics firm will see the dead blasted into space after their bodies have been frozen.
The unusual funerals are being offered to people who believe there may be a hope of bringing them back to life one day.
With space a premium here on Earth, experts at KrioRus see outer space as a ‘land of opportunity’ for future burials.
The cost of preserving a body to stay in space has been slated to start at around £240,000 ($250,000).
Bizarre plans announced by Russian cyrogenics firm KrioRus will see the dead blasted into space after their bodies have been frozen. This image shows one of the firms cryo-coffins being transported
The Moscow-based cryonics company says frozen bodies, DNA samples and even the bodies of pets could be blasted into the atmosphere under the plans.
They have made an agreement with Space Technologies, a new science and tech consortium, to provide liftoff for its cyro-coffins.
Yulia Arkhipova, general director of the firm, said : ‘Satellites with cryo-capsules will be launched into orbit by Russian rockets.’
Since 2005, KrioRus says it has frozen the bodies and brains of 54 people, eight dogs, nine cats, three birds, and incredibly, even one pet chinchilla.
Now the plans are to launch these corpses into space.
The company they are working with was only started last year.
So far it has no rockets or launch vehicles, but it is believed they soon will.
Under the futuristic plans these frozen bodies will not ‘just be hanging around in orbit’ but kept in secure pods, but further details are scant.
Ms Arkhipova added: ‘The leading Russian space companies are developing these satellites, the technologies are unique and it’s classified information,’ refusing to be drawn on what ‘leading space companies’ these were.
Cryogenics is the art of freezing bodies by preserving a dead body with liquid nitrogen.
The Moscow-based cryonics company says frozen bodies, DNA samples and even the bodies of pets could be blasted into the atmosphere under the plans. This image shows flowers being laid in one of its cryo-coffins
They have made an agreement with Space Technologies, a new science and tech consortium, to provide liftoff for its cyro-coffins
Under the futuristic plans, frozen bodies will not ‘just be hanging around in orbit’ but kept in secure pods, although further details are scant
Currently, it can only legally happen when someone has just been declared dead.
The freezing process must begin as soon as the patient dies in order to prevent brain damage, with facilities currently only available in Russia and the US.
In the procedure, the body is cooled in an ice bath to gradually reduce its temperature bit by bit.
Experts then drain the blood and replace it with an anti freeze fluid to stop harmful ice crystals forming in the body.
Since 2005, KrioRus says it has frozen the bodies and brains of 54 people, eight dogs, nine cats, three birds, and incredibly, even one pet chinchilla, at their facility
The cost of preserving a body at the site, some 47 miles (76 km) northeast of the Kremlin, to stay in space has been slated to start at around £240,000 ($250,000)
KrioRus charges £29,200 ($37,600) for ‘whole body’ preservation, £9,750 ($12,560) for neuropreservation (brain).
It also offers cryopreservation services for your pets, including £8,234 ($10,600) to preserve a ‘little cat’ and £20,000 ($25,800) to preserve a ‘big dog’.
Remains are currently stored for decades, centuries or even longer in large Dewar flask deep freezers.
They are located inside a modest, unheated warehouse in a quiet snow-covered village surrounded by private houses some 47 miles (76 km) northeast of the Kremlin.
WHAT IS CRYOPRESERVATION?
WHAT IS CRYOPRESERVATION?
The deep freezing of a body to – 196C (-321F). Anti-freeze compounds are injected into the corpse to stop cells being damaged. The hope is that medical science will advance enough to bring the patient back to life. Two main US organisations carry out ‘cryonics’ – Alcor, in Arizona, and Cryonics Institute, Michigan.
HOW IS IT MEANT TO WORK?
The process can only take place once the body is legally dead. Ideally, it begins within two minutes of the heart stopping – and no more than 15. The body must be packed in ice and injected with chemicals to reduce blood clotting. At the cryonics facility, it is cooled to just above OC and the blood is replaced with a solution to preserve organs. The body is injected with another solution to stop ice crystals forming in organs and tissues, then cooled to – 130C. The final step is to place the body into a container which is lowered into a tank of liquid nitrogen at – 196C.
Cryonpreservation is the deep freezing of a body to – 196°C (-321°F). Anti-freeze compounds are injected into the corpse to stop cells being damaged
WHAT’S THE CHANCE OF SUCCESS?
Many experts say there is none. Organs such as the heart and kidneys have never been successfully frozen and thawed, so it is even less likely a whole body – and the brain – could be without irreversible damage.
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?
Charges at the Cryonics Institute, where the girl has been stored, start at around $35,000 (£28,000) to ‘members’ for whole-body cryopreservation. The girl was charged £37,000, which may include costs such as transportation. Rival group Alcor charges $200,000 (£161,000) for whole-body preservation.
HOW LONG BEFORE PEOPLE CAN BE BROUGHT BACK TO LIFE?
Cryonics organisations claim it could be decades or even centuries. However Medical experts say once cells are damaged during freezing and turned to ‘mush’ they cannot be converted back to living tissue, any more than you can turn a scrambled egg back into a raw egg.