In a move that’s likely to please both Pokemon fans and dog lovers, a dead cat named Pikachu is scheduled to be sent into outer space. After the cat died in January of complications from diabetes, owner Steve Munt had his beloved kitty cremated. But he says he felt Pikachu deserved a “bigger” sendoff — and came up with one when he learned that a cat had never been sent into space. “I wanted Pikachu to be the first,” Munt tells Space.com, adding he wants his dead cat to “continue his legacy as an explorer and show the world that a cat is just as worthy as a dog of a special tribute.” Muntz set up the cremated cat’s trip through a company called Celestis Pets, which rockets the remains of pets into orbit for $5,000. Pikachu’s ashes are set to leave Earth “sometime in the next 18 months,” he says.
RIP Pikachu: Ashes of Beloved Cat Will Launch to Space in Cosmic Burial https://t.co/z6qnaJKZ9M pic.twitter.com/NX5dJVxzv1
— SPACE.com (@SPACEdotcom) April 25, 2019
