A British 'space memorabilia' firm is planning to fly diamonds to the
International Space Station (ISS), bring them back to Earth and sell them
for up to £33,700 ($45,000).
Liverpool-based firm The Space Collective, which has previously launched
clothing labels and name tags into Earth orbit, plans to send 'space
diamonds' aboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule in September 2022, as part of the
SpaceX CRS-26 mission.
After the launch, the diamonds will spend six months on the exterior of the
ISS before being returned to Earth by the SpaceX capsule in May 2023 and
given to customers the following month.
There will be a selection of diamonds to choose from, ranging in price from
£1,875 ($2,500) for a 0.3 carat to a whopping £33,700 ($45,000) for a full 2
carats.
The Space Collective is also offering to send physical photos of your
friend, family member or pet aboard the same flight for £449 ($337).
Both the photos and diamonds will come with documentation detailing their
flight history and asserting their flown-in-space status.
Each diamond will also be laser engraved for 'authentication purposes',
according to The Space Collective.
'Give the gift of the stars with a genuine Space Diamond that is scheduled
to be launched into space up to the International Space Station,' the firm
says on its website.
'Once aboard, the payload containing this diamond will be deployed outside
the space station by the astronauts where it will be exposed to the extreme
environment of outer space.'
By the time the diamonds return to Earth, they will have travelled more than
75 million miles and orbited Earth approximately 6,000 times.
The diamonds will be inside the MISSE (Materials International Space Station
Experiment), a container that is separate from the ISS – meaning technically
they won't have been inside the main body of the space station.
DIAMOND: THE HARDEST MATERIAL ON EARTH
Diamonds, which are made entirely of carbon atoms arranged in a dense
lattice, are the hardest materials on Earth.
The precious stone consists of a clear and colourless crystalline form of
pure carbon, the hardest naturally occurring substance.
Most natural diamonds form in the Earth's mantle at depths of at around 100
miles (150 km), under enormously high pressures and temperatures exceeding
2,700°F.
The Space Collective is launching space diamonds, as well as photos and
flags, thanks to a partnership with Aegis Aerospace, the space firm that
operates MISSE.
Originally a NASA payload that was deployed from the space shuttle, MISSE
has now been commercialised.
'The payload itself is deployed via the airlock by the space station
astronauts who then use the Robotic Canadarm to maneuver it into position,'
Richard Garner, proprietor of The Space Collective, told
MailOnline.
'For those concerned about radiation, fear not, because the payload
undergoes decontamination upon its return to Earth so that it, and all of
its valuable contents, are safe to handle.'
Customers need to upload their chosen photo as a digital file when they make
their order, which The Space Collective itself will print off.
'Since the photographs are destined for the extreme environment of space, we
need to use a particular type of paper and ink as most paper/inks wouldn't
survive the journey,' the firm says.
The Space Collective's order deadline for space diamonds, as well as photos
and flags, is April 2022.
The company is also launching a payload of small US military service flags
and large American flags in February for a similar six-month stay outside
the ISS.
The various military service flags measure six by four inches and cost £300
($350), while the US flag is 12 by eight inches and costs £1,050
($1,250).
All memorabilia is flown under NASA's policies for commercial activities on
the ISS, as established in 2019 and updated earlier this year.
NASA announced plans in 2019 for tourists to eventually visit the ISS, as
part of its mission to 'commercialise low-Earth orbit'.
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