Scientists are calling the Virgin Galactic mission that carried the bones of Australopithecus sediba and Homo naledi to the edge of space a major ethical breach.
For the first time, fossilized remains of ancient human relatives have gone to the edge of outer space — and scientists are not happy about it.
Lee Berger did not reply to a request for comment by the time of publication, but in a statement, he noted that"the journey of these fossils into space represents humankind's appreciation of the contribution of all of humanity's ancestors and our ancient relatives," while Matthew Berger speculated that these hominins"never could have dreamed while alive of taking such an incredible journey as ambassadors of all of humankind's ancestors.
The effects of spaceflight on heritage items"hasn't been an area of scientific study," Justin Walsh, a professor of art and archaeology at Chapman University in California, told Live Science in an email."Space archaeologists like me are definitely interested in the effect of the space environment on items in space," he said,"but I don't think we'd use a piece of heritage from here on Earth as a test article to see what happens to it.
"As a sovereign state, South Africa can manage its national estate as it sees fit, including shooting part of that estate into space like the US, Russia, Denmark, and others all have," Rachel King, an associate professor of cultural heritage studies at University College London, told Live Science in an email.
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