"Now boarding..."

I'm going to Mars.

Okay, not actually me, that would be a bit of a miracle, but my name is.

NASA has introduced a program that allows people to submit their names for the upcoming Mars 2020 mission.  The submissions* will be etched onto a microchip that will be on the Mars 2020 rover when it lands on Mars.

It's a fun idea, and I applaud NASA for the insight displayed in creating this opportunity.

For those of us who will never leave the planet, never have an asteroid or a crater named after them, and never set foot on another world, it's a cool little piece of personal involvement in space exploration.

However, I was saddened to see that I'd missed a couple of other opportunities to participate.  Given the distances involved, I feel that it's going to take a lot more than 300 million NASA frequent flyer points to even get off the ground, let alone qualify for a seat upgrade.

- Sid

* The submitted names are vetted before addition to the list, presumably to avoid Bart Simpson sneaking I.P. Freely or Mike Rotch onto the chip.