Travelling after Death?

Actor James Doohan played the Chief Engineer of the Starship Enterprise in the television series Star Trek. He died in 2005 but recently his remains made a short visit to space. Doohan was one of the increasing number of people to request a Post Cremation Memorial Space Flight and in this BBC programme we find out a little bit more about this service which sends the ashes of the dead into space, the final frontier.

Before you listen to the programme look at the following comprehension questions. You can hear the answers in the programme. Check your understanding by trying the quiz below or reading the Tapescript

1: When was the first series of Star Trek screened?
2: How did NASA commemorate the Star Trek series?
3: Which other person connected with Star Trek had his remains sent into space?
4: Gordon Cooper's remains were also sent into space. Who was he?

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Try the quizz

Vocabulary from the programme

the final frontier =the last unexplored area - space. The phrase was used at the beginning of each Star Trek episode.
iconic = very famous, well known and respected
in its infancy =a new thing
catching on = becoming popular
NASA = acronym for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the government organisation responsible for the space programme in the US
cremation =the burning of the body of someone who has died. After cremation what is left is called the person's 'ashes'.
remains = the ashes or body of somebody who has died
a will =the legal document in which people write what should happen to their money, possessions and remains after they have died
a growth industry =a new business which is getting bigger and becoming more popular
an unmanned rocket =a rocket which does not have any crew, there are no (living) people on it