NASA will launch the Parker Solar Probe this summer, and it will possibly bring your name along in its journey to the sun.
The Parker Solar Probe will be the first-ever spacecraft that Earth will send to the sun, and space enthusiasts have the chance to participate in the mission — or at least their names.
How To Get Your Name On The NASA Parker Solar Probe
NASA launched a website for the Summer 2018 Hot Ticket, which refers to the pending launch of the Parker Solar Probe. NASA explains that people who sign up will have their name included in a memory card that the Parker Solar Probe will carry on its mission to the sun.
The website only requests for people to enter their name and email address. An email will then be sent for confirmation to complete the registration. Submissions will only be accepted until April 27.
To get more people to send their name to the sun, NASA tapped William Shatner, most famous for his role as Captain James T. Kirk of Star Trek, as an endorser. Shatner said that he has booked his name for a trip to the sun and that he is inviting everyone to do the same.
"The spacecraft will also carry my name to the sun, and your name, and the names of everyone who wants to join this voyage of extreme exploration," Shatner said in the video.
NASA is doing this to raise public awareness for the breakthrough mission, which may possibly change the landscape of human knowledge on the sun and the solar system.
What Is The Mission Of The Parker Solar Probe?
The Parker Solar Probe, which is named after solar astrophysicist Eugene Parker, will carry the mission of venturing into the atmosphere of the sun to try to unlock the secrets of the host star of the solar system. One of the questions that it will try to answer is "how do stars really work?"
To allow the Parker Solar Probe to "touch the sun," the spacecraft will feature advanced technology to withstand temperatures as hot as 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit, as it nears the outermost section of the sun's atmosphere. It will stay 4 million miles from the surface of the sun, from where it will examine magnetic fields, solar storms, and other factors affecting space weather.
The Parker Solar Probe will travel at 725,000 kilometers per hour and will get closer to the sun than any other man-made object.
