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[cameron]

Submissions started yesterday. Just a heads up for those who are interested.

Now, this is the plan.

Mars enthusiasts around the world can participate in NASA's journey to Mars by adding their names to a silicon microchip headed to the Red Planet aboard NASA's InSight Mars lander, scheduled to launch next year.

"Our next step in the journey to Mars is another fantastic mission to the surface," said Jim Green, director of planetary science at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "By participating in this opportunity to send your name aboard InSight to the Red Planet, you're showing that you're part of that journey and the future of space exploration."

Submissions will be accepted until Sept. 8. To send your name to Mars aboard InSight, go to: http://mars.nasa.gov/participate/send-your-name/insight/

InSight will launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, in March 2016 and land on Mars Sept. 28, 2016. The mission is the first dedicated to the investigation of the deep interior of the planet. It will place the first seismometer directly on the surface of Mars to measure Martian quakes and use seismic waves to learn about the planet's interior. It also will deploy a self-hammering heat probe that will burrow deeper into the ground than any previous device on the Red Planet. These and other InSight investigations will improve our understanding about the formation and evolution of all rocky planets, including Earth.

It's been done for previous missions. New Horizons had names on a CD. On InSight, names will be etched onto a silicon wafer, similar to NASA's Curiosity rover:

 

[owlbeak]

On my way to Mars again!

 

[disappeared]

Sure, why not.

 

[Escape Goat]

My name is Suk Mahdiq

 

[Volimar]

Sure, if you want martians to steal your identity.


Good luck as a future pod person.

 

[Ether_Snake]

Why only your last name? That's dumb.

edit: I'm dumb

 

[JJDubz]

Sure, if you want martians to steal your identity.


Good luck as a future pod person.

Pretty sure my bank will decline any purchases at Mars Vegas.

 

[Chichikov]

Deez Nuts is really going to have to decide if he wants to be a president or an astronaut.

 

[MoG91]

Name sent. Ready to go Houston.

 

[Himynameischris]

Awesome! I signed up

 

[Emperor Bohe]

why not

 

[hateradio]

Name sent. Ready to go Houston.

Wonder if they'll do any kind of screening.

 

[-Horizon-]

As if the aliens needed a better menu for takeout.

 

[Wag]

I am Martian now. Will I gain superpowers?

 

[rjinaz]

I'm in, why not?

 

[NumberTwo]

Added. Pretty cool to know when I'm dead and dust here on Earth, my name will still be etched on something on another planet. Cool!

 

[Anastasia]

I'm getting my ass to Mars.

 

[The Sum of Zero]

Signed up. The first time my name is leaving Earth, what a fascinating thing.

 

[OrlanisWorks]

A part of me will go into space. That is enough for me.

Woot woot

 

[FuuRe]

I don't consider myself that important...

 

[kamakazi5]

Pretty neat. Hopefully no aliens will use this list to find experimental subjects.

 

[akachan ningen]

I don't think the rocks are going to care what our names are

 

[lastplayed]

I've sent my name into space a few times.. can't even remember when and where they are now.

 

[Wookieomg]

So cool! I'm going to Mars ^_^

 

[Outtrigger888]

I don't think the rocks are going to care what our names are

But maybe in the future when we get to Mars they will find this relic and some of our future offspring can find out about it. Seems pretty cool to me.

 

[NumberTwo]

But maybe in the future when we get to Mars they will find this relic and some of our future offspring can find out about it. Seems pretty cool to me.

Exactly. It's a little bit like an interplanetary message in a bottle for a future generation.

 

[WinterXL]

On my way!

 

[Ban Puncher]

*knock knock*

"Who is it?"

 

[Trouble]

Yay! I'm going to Mars.

 

[Nokterian]

Done! Also did this with Curiosity

 

[aspiegamer]

I don't consider myself that important...

Pretty much!

This is the sort of thing I imagine random aliens finding some day and they'll wonder "how was a being judged worthy of having their name in this registry?"

 

[Capitan]

Pretty much!

This is the sort of thing I imagine random aliens finding some day and they'll wonder "how was a being judged worthy of having their name in this registry?"

...now i kinda wish i put david bowie's name on mars instead of mine

 

[thetrin]

This is super cool. I couldn't resist. My name is going to Mars!

 

[Lilalaunebaer]

Neat, getting my

Spoiler

ass

name to mars.

 

[Dilly]

Oh my goodness! Such a simple initiative that is making my day completely.

 

[thehypocrite]

Done. I'm going to Mars!!! Suck on that Matt Damon.

 

[cameron]

Wonder if they'll do any kind of screening.

From the FAQ, they do try to filter out obscenities. There are ~100k names so far, which would probably make manual screening not a practical option.

Some submissions trigger filters which block certain words or phrases from being submitted. The “No Fly” message is a result of one of these filters being activated. If you believe this has occurred in error, please let us know and we can work to examine what may have caused the issue.

 

[C.Dark.DN]

I'm going to show up to launch with my boarding pass.

 

[Dega]

No way


My whole name?

 

[cameron]

For those who are interested but haven't done so already, today is the last day to register.

Pic of how InSight will look fully deployed:

 

[fates]

First name: Gary was here
Last name: Ash is a Loser

 

[The Artisan]

bump - I just want to know one thing. Is this shot from earth? seeing the sun and the sky makes me say yes, but the sky could just be a photoshop.

 

[cameron]

That's on a mountain in Chile. Cerro Armazones in the Atacama Desert.

What looks like a barren and inhospitable alien landscape in this 360-degree panorama is in fact the site for ESO’s European Extremely Large Telescope, or E-ELT for short. When construction begins the uninhabited mountaintop left of the centre will become a hive of activity as engineers, technicians and scientists work on building the world’s biggest eye on the sky.

In many ways Chile’s Cerro Armazones may seem like an alien world. The environment is harsh, with low humidity and air pressure, a blazing Sun during the day, but breathtaking skies at night. Cerro Armazones is in the Atacama Desert — one of the driest places on Earth.

http://www.eso.org/public/images/potw1105a/

 

[blame space]

It's full already. 😦

EDIT: oh. "already."

 

[The Artisan]

That's on a mountain in Chile. Cerro Armazones in the Atacama Desert.

http://www.eso.org/public/images/potw1105a/

okay, thanks for clearing that up.

 

[GDGF]

Aww. Sorry I missed this

Next chance is in 2018.

 

[The Artisan]

another thing, according to this video, these are the true colors of mars. but it looks vastly different from what we usually see.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TG19jupRG_g