WASHINGTON: George Washing­ton, John F. Kennedy, Dwight D. Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan are going on a hair-raising journey into outer space.

Not the actual — and long dead — former US presidents, of course, but samples of their hair.

Celestis, a Texas-based company that specializes in space burials, announced the plan on Monday, which is celebrated as Presidents’ Day in the United States.

Celestis said it will launch “what we believe to be authenticated DNA” of the former presidents into space aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) rocket later this year.

Also aboard the flight — dubbed “Enterprise” — will be some of the cremated remains of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and other cast members from the groundbreaking 1960s television series.

The USS Enterprise was the starship in the sci-fi show whose mission was to “go boldly where no man has gone before.” Celestis said the hair samples of the four former presidents were gifted by an anonymous donor and were accompanied by certificates of authenticity.

It said they originally came from the collection of Louis Mushro, a “celebrity hair collector and appraiser” from Michigan who died in 2014.

“These hair samples have been in a climate-controlled facility for several years in preparation for this mission,” Celestis said in a statement.

“By adding the DNA of these American icons to Enterprise, we establish a precursor for future human missions, and add to the historical record of human exploration of deep space,” Celestis co-founder and CEO Charles Chafer said.

Published in Dawn, February 21st, 2023