The Orion spacecraft is due for its first test flight on December 4, 2014, and NASA asking the public to place their names aboard the vehicle. Submissions will be recorded on an electronic microchip, which will also be carried if and when the vehicle brings astronauts to space, headed toward Mars. The chip itself will be about the size of a dime.
"Boarding Passes" are being collected on the NASA Web site, and over 360,000 people have already submitted their names for travel to space aboard Orion.
The first test of the Orion spacecraft will last about 4.5 hours, during which time the vehicle will orbit the Earth twice, without a crew on board. During the mission, controllers will subject the craft to equipment tests, ensuring systems are safe for human travel. Exploration Flight Test-1 will end when the vehicle re-enters the Earth's atmosphere at over 20,000 miles per hour. The Orion capsule will heat to almost 4,000 degrees before it lands in the Pacific Ocean to be recovered.
Frequent flier miles will accumulate as an entrant's name is flown on additional missions to Earth orbit and beyond, potentially culminating in a journey to Mars.
"NASA is pushing the boundaries of exploration and working hard to send people to Mars in the future. When we set foot on the Red Planet, we'll be exploring for all of humanity. Flying these names will enable people to be part of our journey," Mark Geyer, Orion program manager, said.
The space agency recently released a video detailing the upcoming test flight, which includes discussions of the critical systems engineers will be testing during the pioneering mission.
Orion will journey 3,600 miles above the surface of the Earth, far beyond the altitude of the International Space Station (ISS), which cruises just 205 miles above the planet. The Space Shuttle, by comparison, only lifted crew and cargo to orbits between 190 and 330 miles. Unlike those vehicles, the Orion capsule is designed to ferry astronauts to asteroids and to Mars.
"We've been working toward this launch for months, and we're in the final stretch, Orion is almost complete and the rocket that will send it into space is on the launch pad," Bob Cabana, Kennedy Space Center director, said.
The hashtag #JourneyToMars has been developed for social media conversations about the Orion program and the quest to send human beings to the Red Planet.
October 31, 2014 - Halloween Day - is the last chance to submit names for travel aboard the first Orion test flight. After that date, people will still be able to send their name to NASA for future missions.
