Nasa gives the big public a chance to share their names to be sent to Mars. All names will be stored in a microchip which will be sent with the Mars lander InSight. This lander will research the soil. The ambitious goal is to drill 4.5m deep in the surface. It will also carry a seismometer to investigate the impact of meteors. The energy of those impacts can be used to study the materials deep under the surface.
The lander won’t be taking scientific instruments alone. On board will also be a special microchip containing sufficient storage for the names of hundreds of thousands Earthlings. Up to November 1st you can pass your name to NASA.
The goal isn’t really to make contact with Martians. It gives the greater public a chance to be part of a space mission. It gives everybody a chance to go on trip to the red planet. Not only that. By sending your name you can earn “frequent flyer points” which indicate how you as an individual are part of NASA’s missions. The frequent flyer saving program is available for multiple missions and you can download a ‘real’ boarding pass. Here's mine:
Entering your name is easily done on NASA’s website.
https://mars.nasa.gov/participate/send-your-name/insight/
I’m looking forward to the day I can say: “My name is on Mars”. Maybe you will be there with me?
