The search for the UP Aerospace payload of experiments and the cremated remains of some 200 people — including “Scotty” of Star Trek fame, as well as pioneering NASA Mercury astronaut, Gordon Cooper — continues within rugged New Mexico mountain landscape.

After a successful blastoff from New Mexico’s Spaceport America on April 28th, the UP Aerospace SpaceLoft XL rocket and its payload nosed into space on a suborbital trajectory. As part of launch operations, the rocket was tracked by specialists at the neighboring White Sands Missile Range.

While all went well with the flight itself, the rocket components — main rocket body and payload section — parachuted into rough and tumble terrain. Repeated searches within the landing zone since launch have come up empty.

Jerry Larson, President of UP Aerospace, has told me that the general location of the rocket hardware is known within some 1,300 feet (400 meters) or so. But given the dense vegetation on the side of the mountain being searched, along with equipment available to the search team, pinpointing the exact locale has proven a tough assignment.

Yet another trip up on the mountain is slated next week, Larson said.

Joining the search this time is the manufacturer of the transmitters onboard the rocket gear. He’ll be bringing high-end tracking gear and years of expertise in locating objects in mountain terrain environments.

In an update from Charles Chafer, head of the Celestis group that provides the ashes to space service, he’s not too concerned about the ongoing lost and sure-to-be-found search for the payload.

Once the flown rocket payload is recovered, the individual capsules containing the ashes are to be returned to their respective customers. They’ll receive the flown-to-space capsule with a certificate signed by Celestis and UP Aerospace officials that the cremated remains reached space. The parameters of the rocket’s suborbital trajectory will be noted, with a launch photo included along with the certificate.