NASA is giving out frequent flyer points to Mars
NASA is giving regular schmoes a chance to send their name on the Mars 2020 mission (and rack up miles while they're at it).
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Members of the public can get their name on board the Mars 2020 mission along with a souvenir boarding pass.
You might not have done an intensive astronaut training course, but NASA still wants you to get involved in its next mission to Mars.
The space agency is giving regular people like you and me a chance to send their name -- etched onto a microchip -- on the Mars 2020 mission. Not only that, but if you get your John Hancock etched into the spacecraft that flies to Mars, you'll also rack up "frequent flyer" points and a souvenir boarding pass to show off to your Earth mates.
It's part of a campaign to build buzz around NASA's Mars 2020 mission, which is sending a rover to the Red Planet to search for signs of past microbial life, collect samples and study Mars' climate and geology. NASA is also billing the mission as "the initial leg of humanity's first round trip to another planet" so being part of the expedition brings significant bragging rights.
NASA has done this kind of thing before with the Orion mission and the InSight mission. On InSight, which touched down on Mars in November 2018, every one of NASA's "frequent flyers" racked up roughly 300 million miles, which certainly beats what the budget airlines back on Earth are offering.
The JPL team is busy working on the Mars 2020 rover, aiming to launch it in July 2020 ahead of a February 2021 touch down on Mars. Meanwhile, you can sign up through NASA's website to get your name on the list until Sept. 30, 2019.
