John Zemple’s Remains to Join Stars Above

A murder-suicide victim’s ashes will be among the first batch launched into space on the Celestis Memorial flight, taking off on January 8th.

The Enterprise Flight, as it’s been designated within Celestis, will contain the DNA, cremated remains, and “mindfiles” of more than 200 clients. Included in that bunch is a Topeka man who was slain by his disturbed wife in March of 2022. The long time Star Trek fan, John Zemple, will become part of the cosmos when his tiny vial of ashes makes its way into orbit.

His sister Audrey White spoke with local journos about the decision, saying that it will be a comfort to her to know “he’s going to be there” among the stars. The Enterprise flight is particularly Trek-ified, boasting the remains of the cast and crew of the original sci-fi series. “When I lost my brother…I found Celestis and their Enterprise mission,” added White. “I mean it’s Gene Roddenberry, James Doohan, Nichelle Nichols - all of the Star Trek people we have lost. The originals will be on this flight with him and it’s just so perfect, so perfect for John.”

Colby Youngblood, Celestis president, said the capsule will serve as a wonderful epitaph for the series. “Celestis Memorial spaceflight launches symbolic portions of cremated remains or the living DNA of folks. So what these flight capsules are they’re about 13 millimeters around and they’re about the size of a watch battery and about a quarter inch thick so they’ll hold about a gram of cremated remains or DNA so that one gram is put into this flight capsule then the flight capsule is attached is attached to an assembly.”

FMI: www.celestis.com