Death shroud designer thinks ahead to burials on Mars

In Australia, bioengineer J.J. Hastings and burial-garment designer Pia Interlandi have partnered to develop end-of-life solutions for the early—and resource-starved—colonizers of Mars.

Because bacteria do not exist on the planet, any solution must promote decomposition—otherwise the planet would become overrun with mummified corpses.

The two thus developed the Martian death garment, which features four, 100% biodegradable layers made from silk. Because Mars colonization would require resource efficiency, the body would then essentially be recycled into compost that would be rich in minerals and valuable to the mourning Martians left behind.

Interlandi and Hastings plan to run experiments in which they dissolve the Martian death garments using alkaline hydrolysis to ensure residues do not cause any toxicity issues for using the human compost for growing crops.