Give NASA your name to be part of space history

(Image credit: Twitter.com/WilliamShatner)

last updated 8 January 2015

You may not physically be able to go to Mars, but your name can: On the NASA website, people from around the world can submit their names to go on Orion's journey to the red planet.

NASA says that the Orion will eventually launch on the new heavy-lift Space Launch System, the most powerful rocket ever created, capable of sending astronauts deep into space. On Dec. 4, Orion will take its first flight, a test mission that will go around the Earth. A tiny microchip with names from the website will be on board, and it will remain there for future trips to Mars. "All names submitted will fly on Orion and accrue miles as part of the 'frequent flier' campaign," NASA spokeswoman Rachel Kraft told the Los Angeles Times.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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