It was the end of May 2019 when the NASA announce the ability to post your name on Mars thanks to the rover, at that time still unnamed, of the Mars 2020 mission. We now know what that rover is called NASA Perseverance and is currently on the Red Planet retaining over 10 million names in three chips positioned on the body. That mission was not the first to lead “of travelers” with s, for example NASA InSight, currently operating on Mars, holds 2 million. But where are those three little pieces of silicon with our names?
The name chips on NASA Perseverance when it was still on Earth. Click to enlarge
Your name on Mars with NASA Perseverance
There are some photographs of the chips present on the rover both when he was still on Earth, both now and on Mars. The names submitted by users are found on a small gray plate positioned in plain sight in the area near the RTG (radioisotope thermoelectric generator), the Plutonium power system located in the rear area and which allows the rover to work .
Inside the three chips are printed nicely 10,932,295 user names who participated in the program at the time. During the early days of NASA Perseverance several photographs were taken, including a 360 panorama which shows both what is around the rover and the rover itself (names included).
From every corner of the globe, you sent your names to ride aboard with me and now were here.#CountdownToMars
Missed your chance? Send your name on NASAs next Mars mission: https://t.co/P1ta0Ojq6T pic.twitter.com/6leeFdowpI
NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) February 25, 2021
The US space agency also wanted to pay special homage to users with a tweet dedicated where the position of the small plate with the names is indicated. Thank you to the dedicated site possible to find your own “virtual ticket” and also look for other missions in which our name is present. In another page of the same site you can find a series of useful answers to frequently asked questions.
As for other small curiosities present within the mission and on the rover itself (just think of the parachute with the binary code or the plaque with the rovers of the previous missions), this is not something purely “scientific” but it serves to allow users to indirectly participate in space missions, allowing the NASA to improve the relationship with the public (and obtain funding). And while waiting to actually set foot on Mars, it is still a way to indirectly explore what lies beyond our planet.
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