A recent spacecraft crash in the Pacific Ocean has resulted in a partial success story for the company behind the mission. The Nyx capsule, launched as part of a rideshare mission with SpaceX on June 23rd, crashed into the ocean due to failed landing parachutes. Unfortunately, the capsule lost human remains and cannabis plant matter, intended for a citizen science project called Martian Grow.
The human remains were part of a memorialization project provided by Celestis, which has previously experienced losses in space missions. The cannabis was part of an open-source project aimed at studying microgravity’s effect on germination and resilience.
The company behind the mission, The Exploration Company (TEC), apologized for the lost cargo and expressed gratitude to its team members for their hard work and dedication. TEC founder Hélène Huby stated that “partial success is often part of the road” for innovative missions and promised to learn from the setback to improve future vehicles.
According to TEC, the parachute system was not drop-tested before the mission, which contributed to the failure. However, the company remains committed to its mission and plans to implement learned lessons in its next vehicle.
Source: https://www.popularmechanics.com/space/rockets/a65279703/nyx-human-remains-crash