Send Your Name to Mars

This time courtesy of the Mars Science Laboratory, also known as Curiosity. NASA has done this with lots of missions and my name is at a majority of the planets or on its way now (no missions to Uranus and Neptune have been launched since NASA started doing this...I think Galileo was launched before they did this so Jupiter might be on my to get to list as well). If you haven't been to Mars yet, send your name (and print out a nifty certificate saying you are on board). MSL will launch in the fall of 2011.

The MSL will be the largest rover landed on another planet and will search for signs of potential past life on Mars (less likely is finding current life, but that's partly due to the suite of instruments on board). It will be able to drive much farther and faster than the current generation of rovers due to the fact that it uses a nuclear power source rather than solar power.

The rover is so large that they developed a new landing technique. I am not going to spoil it, just post the video...watch it! It is cool!

Reprinted with permission from the Half-Astrophysicist Blog.