NASA released a statement asking the public to submit names and messages that they want to send to Mars. The messages will be carried in a DVD to Mars in NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft.
NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft, which is scheduled to launch this November, will carry the DVD to Mars. The DVD is a part of University of Colorado's "Going to Mars Campaign", which has been coordinated at Boulder's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (CU/LASP).
NASA also encouraged the public to send in messages in the form of a three-lined poem or haiku, of which only three will be selected. The deadline for all submissions is July 1. An online voting system will be put in place July 15 to vote for the three haikus that will be recorded on the DVD.
"The Going to Mars campaign offers people worldwide a way to make a personal connection to space, space exploration, and science in general, and share in our excitement about the MAVEN mission," said Stephanie Renfrow, lead for the MAVEN Education and Public Outreach program at CU/LASP.
People who submit their names for the campaign can also print out a certification of participation for their involvement in the MAVEN mission.
"This new campaign is a great opportunity to reach the next generation of explorers and excite them about science, technology, engineering and math," said Bruce Jakosky, MAVEN principal investigator from CU/LASP. "I look forward to sharing our science with the worldwide community as MAVEN begins to piece together what happened to the Red Planet's atmosphere."
This is the first spacecraft that's been dedicated solely to study the Martian upper atmosphere, and will work to uncover the history of water on the Red Planet's surface.
To participate in the mission, click here and here for more information.
