The chance for most people to be one of those who will first land on Mars is close to over. You will have to be an astronaut or one of the 100 finalists in the Mars One crowdfunding initiative to do so.
Space enthusiasts, however, can still "go" to the Red Planet and secure a "boarding pass" by sending their names aboard NASA's Insight Lander, which is slated to begin its journey on March 2016. Names must be submitted by Tuesday, Sept. 8.
"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," Jim Green director of planetary science at NASA, announced in a statement.
The "send your name" campaign was first launched during the first Orion mission back in 2014, which collected 1.38 million names. The InSight mission offers a second chance for space enthusiasts who failed to submit their names.
Interested applicants can sign their names up in Insight's send-your-name page. The names will be embedded in a microchip and participants also get frequent flier points and a boarding pass to show off their space cred, CNET reported. If you would like your name to be included, you will have to act now since the deadline is September 8.
The InSight mission aims to study Mars' interior and will bring several scientific instruments such as a seismometer, which will dig deep into the Martian surface to learn more about the planet's internal structure and its evolution, according to Space.
