NASA Wants to Send Your Name on the Rover to Mars

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By Audacy

You can’t go to Mars, but your name can!

NASA is inviting humans around the world to submit their names to fly aboard the Mars 2020 rover on its mission to the Red Planet.

“As we get ready to launch this historic Mars mission, we want everyone to share in this journey of exploration,” Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD) in Washington, said in a news release.“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.”

All the names will be printed onto a microchip using an electronic beam. Up to one million names can be put onto one chip.

Interested travelers can add their name to the list by submitting their information online by September 30.

Participants will receive a “boarding pass” to commemorate their involvement with the mission and “frequent flyer miles” that add up with each trip you submit your name to.

Over 2.6 million people have already submitted their names to the rover  which is set to launch in July 2020. It will then travel for 7 months before reaching Mars in February 2021.

While on the Red Planet, the rover will run tests and collect rock and soil data, which NASA hopes to be able to return to Earth at some point in the future.

So, enter your name and get on board!