You can add your name to NASA’s Europe Clipper program (but not for long)

there NASA It opened the way for the public to submit their names on a small slide that will be on board the Europa Clipper mission, heading to Jupiter’s moon Europa. This 1.6 billion mile journey beyond Mars has an entry deadline: registration closes on December 31, 2023 at 11:59 PM EST.

The collected names will be engraved on a precise silicon chip in Micro Devices Laboratory From NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The technology used allows for extreme precision, with each line of text smaller than 1/1000th the width of a human hair. In addition to the names presented, a cultural element will be included in the trip: poetry.In praise of mystery“By American poet Ada Lemon. This poem will be with the names on the microchip and will be attached to the outside of the spacecraft. The Europa Clipper mission will make about 50 flybys around Europa to study the moon’s subsurface ocean, icy crust and atmosphere.

Preparing for launch

After assembly for Jet Propulsion Laboratorythe Europa Clipper orbiter will be transported to Kennedy Space Center in Florida, in preparation for launch in 2024. This initiative is part of NASA’s tradition of sending messages into space, a concept popularized by the Voyager mission.

Participants have the opportunity to create Personal digital souvenirYour name appears on a message in a bottle with an image of Europe and Jupiter. Sharing the experience on social media via hashtag is encouraged #send your name.