{"id":18047,"date":"2019-05-21T21:29:16","date_gmt":"2019-05-21T13:29:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/now-you-can-put-your-name-on-nasas-mars-2020-rover-in-teeny-tiny-letters\/"},"modified":"2019-05-21T21:29:16","modified_gmt":"2019-05-21T13:29:16","slug":"now-you-can-put-your-name-on-nasas-mars-2020-rover-in-teeny-tiny-letters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/now-you-can-put-your-name-on-nasas-mars-2020-rover-in-teeny-tiny-letters\/","title":{"rendered":"Now you can put your name on NASA\u2019s Mars 2020 rover (in teeny tiny letters)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Members of the public who sign up to have their names sent to Mars will get a souvenir boarding pass to print out as well. (NASA \/ JPL-Caltech Image)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Space fans have been sending their names to Mars and other extraterrestrial destinations for more than two decades, and it\u2019s that time again: From now until Sept. 30, NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory is taking names for the Mars 2020 rover mission.<\/p>\n

All you have to do is type your name and location into an online form on NASA\u2019s website and hit the \u201cSend\u201d button. You\u2019ll instantly get the opportunity to print out or save a souvenir boarding pass, listing more than 300 million miles\u2019 worth of faux frequent-flier award points.<\/p>\n

Once all the names pass muster, they\u2019ll be handed over to JPL\u2019s Microdevices Laboratory to be etched onto a silicon chip with an electron beam. Each line of text will be a mere 75 nanometers wide \u2014 which is less than a thousandth the thickness of a human hair.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s small enough to get more than a million names inscribed onto a dime-sized microchip. But even at that rate, it\u2019s likely to take more than one chip to do the job. After all, more than 2.4 million names were etched on two chips that were sent to Mars on NASA\u2019s InSight lander last year.<\/p>\n

If anything, the Mars 2020 rover will be an even bigger deal, thanks to its role in NASA\u2019s accelerating campaign to look for evidence of ancient life on Mars.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want everyone to share in this journey of exploration,\u201d Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA\u2019s Science Mission Directorate in Washington, said in a news release. \u201cIt\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n