Science WireSpace

Send your name to Mars: Deadline Tuesday

Posted by
Deborah Byrd
and
September 7, 2015
NASA chose an an Atlas V 401 rocket to launch the InSight mission, which will place a geophysical lander on the surface of Mars in 2016. Image via SatelliteToday
NASA chose an an Atlas V 401 rocket to launch the InSight mission, which will place a geophysical lander on the surface of Mars in 2016. Image via SatelliteToday

In March, 2016, NASA will launch the InSight mission to Mars: a robotic, stationary lander designed to study Mars geophysics. NASA is inviting you to ride along with the lander, or, at least, your name. The deadline for all of you Mars and space enthusiasts to add your name to a computer chip that’ll ride with the InSight lander is Tuesday – September 8, 2015 – at 11:59 p.m. EDT (Wednesday at 3:59 UTC). Translate to your time zone here.

Go here to add your name to the InSight mission: https://mars.nasa.gov/participate/send-your-name/insight/

NASA's InSight Mars lander spacecraft in a Lockheed Martin clean room near Denver. As part of a series of deployment tests, the spacecraft was commanded to deploy its solar arrays in the clean room to test and verify the exact process that it will use on the surface of Mars.
NASA’s InSight Mars lander spacecraft in a Lockheed Martin clean room near Denver. As part of a series of deployment tests, the spacecraft was commanded to deploy its solar arrays in the clean room to test and verify the exact process that it will use on the surface of Mars.

InSight is an acronym for Interior Exploration for Seismic Investigations, Geodesy, and Heat Transport. The mission will launch on an Atlas V 401 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on March 4, 2016.

It is scheduled to land in Mars’ Elysium Planitia (Plain of Ideal Happiness) on September 20, 2016.

Once on Mars, the mission is designed to last two years.

Read more about the InSight mission to Mars

I got mine!
I got mine! Here’s where you can get yours.

Bottom line: Tuesday – September 8, 2015 – at 11:59 p.m. EDT (Wednesday at 3:59 UTC) – is the deadline for adding your name to the upcoming InSight mission to Mars. Do it!

Via Glenn A. Walsh at SpaceWatchtower

Posted 
September 7, 2015
 in 
Science Wire

Deborah Byrd

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About the Author:
Deborah Byrd created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. Prior to that, she had worked for the University of Texas McDonald Observatory since 1976, and created and produced their Star Date radio series. Today, she serves as Editor-in-Chief of this website. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named 3505 Byrd in her honor. In 2020, she won the Education Prize from the American Astronomical Society, the largest organization of professional astronomers in North America. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a force for good in the world and a vital tool for the 21st century. "Being an EarthSky editor is like hosting a big global party for cool nature-lovers," she says.

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