Photo: NASA
About a year or so is left until one of the most important space exploration missions in history takes off from Cape Canaveral, and NASA is now in official marketing mode.
Just as it did when it launched the InSight last year, NASA plans to send the names of millions of humans to the Red Planet on the upcoming mission, as a means for all to be a part of this historic trip.
"As we get ready to launch this historic Mars mission, we want everyone to share in this journey of exploration," said in a statement Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate.
"It's an exciting time for NASA, as we embark on this voyage to answer profound questions about our neighboring planet, and even the origins of life itself."
So, how does it work? The first thing you’ll have to do is follow this link and fill in the required data. NASA reviews what you provided and if all is good it will etch your name by means of an electron beam on a silicon chip, which it will then send to Mars along with all the other names.
They won’t use large fonts for the task, and your entire name will measure no more than the width of the human hair, but that should be enough to ensure your name’s immortality.
Each person taking part will also receive a souvenir boarding pass and frequent flyer points, as well as a digital mission patche.
At the time of this writing, there were already over 350,000 names submitted, and it's likely that by the time the submission period ends in September, the number will grow into the millions. Enough, perhaps, the surpass the 2 million names sent to Mars with InSight.
The Mars 2020 mission is scheduled to depart in July 2020 and will reach its destination in February 2021. The machine will land in the Jezero Crater on the western edge of Isidis Planitia. Once there, it will begin humanity's first ever terraforming efforts, searching for signs of life at the same time.
"As we get ready to launch this historic Mars mission, we want everyone to share in this journey of exploration," said in a statement Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate.
"It's an exciting time for NASA, as we embark on this voyage to answer profound questions about our neighboring planet, and even the origins of life itself."
So, how does it work? The first thing you’ll have to do is follow this link and fill in the required data. NASA reviews what you provided and if all is good it will etch your name by means of an electron beam on a silicon chip, which it will then send to Mars along with all the other names.
They won’t use large fonts for the task, and your entire name will measure no more than the width of the human hair, but that should be enough to ensure your name’s immortality.
Each person taking part will also receive a souvenir boarding pass and frequent flyer points, as well as a digital mission patche.
At the time of this writing, there were already over 350,000 names submitted, and it's likely that by the time the submission period ends in September, the number will grow into the millions. Enough, perhaps, the surpass the 2 million names sent to Mars with InSight.
The Mars 2020 mission is scheduled to depart in July 2020 and will reach its destination in February 2021. The machine will land in the Jezero Crater on the western edge of Isidis Planitia. Once there, it will begin humanity's first ever terraforming efforts, searching for signs of life at the same time.
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