Perhaps for public relations purposes, NASA has set up a website where you can easily sign up to have your name placed on a tiny microchip and sent to Mars next year. It will fly aboard the InSight spacecraft built by Lockheed Martin. In addition, if you also sign up for NASA’s “frequent flyer” program, they will credit your account for the 33.9 million miles travelled to Mars, including any future flights you may sign up for.
The next mission to Mars; i.e., the InSight Mars Lander, will launch in May, 2018 and land on Mars in November next year. Its mission is to study the interior of Mars and listen for Mars quakes.
The InSight lander is being built at Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver. In the attached photo, a spacecraft specialist in a clean room, affixes a dime-size chip onto the lander deck. This chip will carry all the names submitted online by the public from all over the world.
Applicants who opt to include their email address will become a “Frequent Flyer”. NASA will then automatically keep track of all the missions you participate in. They will also store copies of all your boarding passes, and notify you whenever new flight opportunities become available.
To put your name on the “passenger list”, simply
Click Here and type it in. Note, press #4 at the top of this NASA website to learn more about Mars and the InSight.
IMPORTANT - The last day to submit your name is Wednesday, November 1, 2017. To date, about two million “passengers” have signed up.
