The grieving relatives of a schoolboy who died at the age of 11 are planning to send his ashes to the moon in an attempt to fulfill his ambition to travel to space.
Matthew Gallagher dreamed of becoming an astronaut and was fascinated by the solar system and constellations in the night sky.
Matthew’s family, who lives in Florida, hopes to honor his memory by having his ashes sent to space after his unexpected death while his parents slept on May 18.
His cremated remains are expected to travel on Destiny Flight to the moon, scheduled to launch in 2023, the New York Post reported.
Hopefully his ashes will be buried on the surface so that his loved ones can remember him every time they see the moon.
Matthew has been described as a “good-hearted soul” who “deeply touched countless others during his short earthly life” on a GoFundMe page launched by his family to pay for a commemorative space mission.
The page was created by her parents, Scott and Cori Gallagher, who hailed her “lively and playful approach to life”.
“Getting to know Matthew was one of God’s great blessings and you couldn’t help but love him,” shared his father, a US Marine.
“Matthew was happiest when he wore his superhero costumes, played video games with his sister and friends, worked on projects with his father and cuddled his mother.
“Matthew loved anime, space, dirt biking, hockey, baseball, Spider-Man and playing outdoors.
“Matthew was a brilliant boy.
“His biggest dream was to become an astronaut and travel to space.”
Matthew dreamed of becoming an astronaut
The family hopes to be there for the launch of Matthew’s space mission and have so far raised nearly $ 12,000 of their $ 14,000 goal.
Matthew’s parents later added a couple of photos of their son to their fundraising page, posting, “We just wanted to share the sweet face you’ll help send to the moon.”
The 11-year-old, born at a Marine Corps base in California, leaves behind a sister, Savannah, along with many relatives and friends.
“Everyone who knew him will be greatly missed,” Gallagher added.
