The names will be sent to Mars via NASA’s InSight (Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport) technology.
Advertisement
People could add their names to a silicon microchip that will be incorporated into the InSight Mars lander, which is the first NASA mission dedicated to investigating Mars’ deep interior.
According to NASA, the lander will launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California and land on Mars on September 28, 2016, on the Elysium Planitia, or the “Plain of Ideal Happiness”.
In just the first 24 hours over 67,000 Mars enthusiasts have already signed up!
The InSight mission offers the second such opportunity for space exploration fans to collect points by flying their names aboard a NASA mission.
Now, even if you can’t go to Mars, your name still can.
People all over the globe who want their name to fly on the journey to mars can submit their names on NASA’s official website.
The adventurous journey of your name will begin on a dime-sized microchip.
Users are simply asked to sign up with some of their basic information, before they’re presented with a space-age boarding pass, which inlcudes a frequent flyer number, and additional details such as the date of the scheduled launch, the launch’s location and the arrival site. In December 2014, approximately 1.38 million names were sent aboard the first flight of Orion spacecraft that will be carrying astronauts to deep space destinations together with an asteroid and the red planet. A self-hammering probe will be deployed to examine the the geology below the planet’s surface.
These and other InSight investigations will improve our understanding about the formation and evolution of all rocky planets, including Earth.
Advertisement
NASA/JPL-Caltech/Lockheed MartinThe countdown clock is ticking relentlessly towards liftoff in less than seven months time in March 2016.
