Now, send your dead pet to space!

New York: When your pet takes a nap for the last time, you have the option to give that little dog or kitten a celestial treatment. A US-based company has now launched packages to send cremated remains of pets into space.

Celestis, a private spaceflight company, which has been sending payloads on suborbital and orbital trips into space with the cremated remains of humans since mid-1990s has now expanded its service to include pets.

"Because your pet loved to explore," is the tagline of Celestis Pets, undoubtedly a unique pet memorial service provider. "Honour your best friend with a journey to the stars on board the world’s first pet memorial spaceflight service,” it added. To send a small portion of your pet’s ashes (or a lock of hair) into space comes at a cost, however.

For $995 (about Rs.60,000), you can choose the “Earth Rise” package that will see your beloved pet’s remains blasted on a suborbital trajectory, presumably in a sounding rocket.

If you want to take the orbital root, things start getting a little steeper - expect to write a check for $4,995 for the “Earth Orbit” package. But if you want your pet’s remains to become a real pioneer, sending him or her to the moon or beyond, you’ll need to cough up $12,500, Wired.com reported.