Navajo Nation objects to a plan to send human remains to the moon

A plan to deposit some human remains on the moon as part of a rocket launch that blasted off early Monday morning is prompting criticism from the head of the Navajo Nation, who says it would be a desecration of the celestial body sacred to many tribes.

Buu Nygren, president of the Navajo Nation, urged NASA or other government officials in a statement last week to address the tribe's concerns before the launch.

"The moon holds a sacred place in Navajo cosmology," he wrote. "The suggestion of transforming it into a resting place for human remains is deeply disturbing and unacceptable to our people and many other tribal nations."