If you've ever wanted to blast off into space, now's your chance.
NASA recently announced that you can have your name sent into space along with the Orion spacecraft set to launch on Dec. 4, 2014. OK, so maybe this is more of an opportunity for those always wanting to travel into space but like their gravity a little too much to do so.
All you have to do is head on over to this site to register your name and a few other bits of information, and you are on your way to space, in name only, of course. Your name will be put on a dime-sized microchip and placed aboard the Orion spacecraft as it takes its first flight test.
After a four-and-a-half-hour, two-orbit mission, Orion will return to Earth. However, NASA says your name will fly on future NASA exploration flights and missions to Mars. NASA has high hopes for Orion to eventually carry humans to the Red Planet, after all.
At the time of this writing, more than 130,000 people have signed up for "boarding passes." Aww, boarding passes. Isn't it cute that they're calling it that?
In case big data is your jam or you just like to check out regional differences, NASA is also keeping track of the countries around the world and U.S. states where the most people are registering. So far, the U.S. is in the lead by far, which isn't shocking since NASA is its national agency. It's followed by India and Great Britain. In the U.S. specifically, Californians really want to get their names into space, followed by Texans and Floridians.
This being World Space Week and all, NASA has fittingly been on a roll, allowing astronauts to take a much-needed spacewalk, funding the search for alien life and exploring the possibility of putting the crew to sleep as it makes its way to Mars. It's a wonder how they find the time to launch our names into space, too.
Having your name in space probably isn't as cool as getting up there yourself. However, it's slightly more awesome and easier than buying a star in your honor and a lot less morbid than waiting to launch your ashes into space. Until Richard Branson can figure out that whole commercial spaceflight business where you can live in Elon Musk's Martian metropolis, sending your name into space is your best option.
