Photo: NASA
It’s been less than a month since NASA’s Perseverance rover touched down on Mars, so it may seem it’s way too early to look forward to the next mission to the Red Planet. But when it comes to space exploration, planning is everything.
For some time now NASA has had a habit of allowing the everyday citizens of the world to take part in its projects. When it comes to Mars, that meant allowing people to send their names to the neighboring planet, piggybacking on the hardware sent there.
Perseverance, for instance, took with it 10,932,295 human names from all over the world, inscribed on three fingernail-sized silicon chips and attached to the rover on an aluminum plate. It is, if you like, a shot at solar system immortality for all of us given how, if humans actually colonize Mars, these names will forever be preserved together with the rover in a museum or something.
NASA has been playing the send-your-name-to-Mars game even before Perseverance, and it will continue to do so for the upcoming missions. So entries are always accepted, even if the mission to carry these names has not been decided yet.
All you have to do to get your name to another planet is head over NASA’s dedicated website. You’ll have to enter your name, select the country you’re from and submit your email, and you’ll get in return a boarding pass for a “Future Mars Mission.”
Entries are of course allowed for those who have already sent their names up, as they are now considered frequent flyers, and part of a select club that will receive benefits such as points awarded based on the number of miles traveled, mission patches, and possibly even more in the future.
Technically speaking, the next hardware to be sent to Mars should be the Sample Return mission, but it wasn't confirmed yet if this one would carry names with it. Judging by the year inscribed on the boarding pass, 2026, this should be it though.
Perseverance, for instance, took with it 10,932,295 human names from all over the world, inscribed on three fingernail-sized silicon chips and attached to the rover on an aluminum plate. It is, if you like, a shot at solar system immortality for all of us given how, if humans actually colonize Mars, these names will forever be preserved together with the rover in a museum or something.
NASA has been playing the send-your-name-to-Mars game even before Perseverance, and it will continue to do so for the upcoming missions. So entries are always accepted, even if the mission to carry these names has not been decided yet.
All you have to do to get your name to another planet is head over NASA’s dedicated website. You’ll have to enter your name, select the country you’re from and submit your email, and you’ll get in return a boarding pass for a “Future Mars Mission.”
Entries are of course allowed for those who have already sent their names up, as they are now considered frequent flyers, and part of a select club that will receive benefits such as points awarded based on the number of miles traveled, mission patches, and possibly even more in the future.
Technically speaking, the next hardware to be sent to Mars should be the Sample Return mission, but it wasn't confirmed yet if this one would carry names with it. Judging by the year inscribed on the boarding pass, 2026, this should be it though.
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