How would you like to send your name and a haiku straight to the Red Planet?
Who’s it for? Who’s gonna read it when it gets there? These are questions I can’t answer, but NASA is giving everyone this unique opportunity when they launch their Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (or MAVEN) spacecraft this November.
The deadline for submissions is July 1, 2013. NASA is accepting names and haikus, though only three haikus will be chosen (by public vote on July 15).
Every single name they receive, however, will make it onto the special DVD, along with the chosen haikus. Then, the DVD will be whisked off to Mars, carried by the MAVEN spacecraft as it journeys to study the planet’s upper atmosphere and the fate of its water.
“This new campaign is a great opportunity to reach the next generation of explorers and excite them about science, technology, engineering and math,” said Bruce Jakosky, MAVEN principal investigator from CU/LASP. “I look forward to sharing our science with the worldwide community as MAVEN begins to piece together what happened to the Red Planet’s atmosphere.”
If you want to participate, head on over to the official Go to Mars with MAVEN website.
