The night. In 1992, Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry went to outer space for the first time.

That's right, after a lifetime of telling stories about the Cosmos.

He was finally journeying out toward places no man had gone before.

It must have been a poignant momentous experience for him.

And I'm sure it would have been if Roddenberry had been aware of it, but alas he had no idea. You see on the day that Jean went into space he had already been dead for about a year.

It was only his ashes aboard Space Shuttle Columbia's mission S.T.S. 52.

And after a brief voyage, the shuttle returned safely to Earth, Roddenberry's remains in

tow.

But that wouldn't be the end of his posthumous career as a cosmonaut. A few years

later on April 21st of 1997 he returned to space again. Well seven grams of did, and this time he had company.

23 other people's cremated remains were also launched into the Earth's orbit.

By 2020, the spacecraft had disintegrated into the atmosphere, Rotenberry and his fellows along with it,

a burial among the stars. Funeral rights have been a part of human civilization since the beginning of time. They reflect our

values, our customs, and yes even our technology. And so it kind of makes sense

that there would be a modern version of this ancient practice.

Also, one thing you can be sure of when you launch a loved one into space

that no one is going to tamper with their grave.

Because down here on Earth, that isn't always the case. I'm

Aaron Mankey and this is lore. We all know the importance of an heirloom, those special treasured objects passed from hand to hand, generation to generation.

Sometimes heirlooms are valuable, like silver candlesticks or fine jewelry.

Other times their value is simply sentimental, made precious by their history and the memories tucked inside them.

A great-grandmother's comb, for example,

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