free gathering
Rest Among
the Stars
A live, community conversation with Ryan Mitchell, from Ashes to Space
For too long, the cosmos has felt reserved for the elite - governments, corporations, billionaires and career astronauts. Ashes to Space is changing that. In this intimate conversation, Ryan Mitchell will share the story of building Ashes to Space: a service that allows families to send a small, symbolic portion of their loved one’s (or pet’s) ashes into Earth orbit. More than a memorial, this is a profound act of love and release: a final journey that transforms grief into wonder, and earthly farewell into celestial belonging.
Ryan will explore how his deep technical background in space systems (from the Space Shuttle through New Glenn) now serves a deeply human purpose: democratizing space so that everyday people can create lasting, meaningful tributes. He’ll reflect on the intersections of death, legacy, and the vastness of the universe, and how opening space to all of us can become a new ritual of kinship, healing, and mystery.
Co-led by:
Lauren Carroll & Ryan Mitchell
July 13 at 12pm mountain time
held on Zoom
recording available
Your hosts
Ryan Mitchell
Ryan Mitchell (he/him) is a space systems engineer, leader, and visionary dedicated to democratizing access to space. As Founder of Space Beyond and creator of Ashes to Space, Ryan is building pathways for everyday people to honor their loved ones — including beloved pets — by sending a symbolic portion of their ashes into orbit, so they may literally “Rest Among the Stars.”
With over two decades of hands-on experience in aerospace, Ryan helped transform Blue Origin’s Florida campus from raw land into a nearly 2-million-square-foot manufacturing and test facility for New Glenn. He has held leadership roles across design, manufacturing, operations, and facility development at Blue Origin, Embraer, and United Space Alliance. A proud graduate of the University of Florida (BS) and Georgia Tech (MS) in Aerospace Engineering, Ryan brings deep technical expertise in turning ambitious ideas into reality.
His work blends rigorous space systems design with a profound humanistic mission: opening the final frontier to all people, not just the ultra-wealthy or career astronauts. Through Ashes to Space, Ryan is creating meaningful, accessible celestial tributes that help families find peace, celebrate life, and forge a cosmic connection after loss. He is driven by the belief that space should be a shared human inheritance — a place where grief can meet wonder, and where every soul can find its place among the stars.
Lauren Carroll
Lauren Carroll, co-founder of La Mort, is a Death Educator & Holistic Funeral Director who is passionate about weaving community and family back into the death space. Her work centers around re-aligning our culture with Mother Earth and helping humans remember how to love one another. She is a former board member for the National Home Funeral Alliance and co-founded The Deathwives. She lives on an urban farm at the base of a mountain where she tends to her animals, raises her two children, and dances around bonfires on the full moon with friends while listening to Nick Cave.
Our Teaching / Learning / Creating Style at La Mort
We leave behind the polished, gate-keepy approach to education. We teach in ways that carry story and experience. We listen. We laugh (a lot). We go off-script sometimes. We cry (with you)(for those you’ve loved)(for those we’ve loved). We like science and studies and logical frameworks, but also mysticism and poetry and all that stuff. We really love to honor history and those who came before. We move through some serious curricula, but don’t take anything too seriously. We dedicate ourselves to seeing you, and want you to feel seen. We deeply honor our intuition and yours. We lead with integrity (always). And we welcome the odd-balls and misfits, because it takes one to know one.