On January 31, 2004, NASA closes their passenger list for a one-way trip to a comet.
On July 4, 2005, the Deep Impact spacecraft will launch a 370-kg copper projectile into the surface of comet Tempel 1, forming a football-stadium-sized crater. In that projectile - which will be obliterated by the impact - will be a CD containing the names of spaceflight enthusiasts who signed on for this one-way trip to a comet.
As the projectile hits Tempel 1 at 37,000 kph, Deep Impact will collect pictures and data on the material ejected from the comet's new crater, the first-ever glimpse into the interior of a celestial snowball.
"This is an opportunity to become part of an extraordinary space mission," said Dr. Don Yeomans, member of the Deep Impact team. "When the craft is launched in December 2004, yours and the names of your loved-ones can hitch along for the ride and be part of what may be the best space fireworks show in history."
People can submit their names for the mission by visiting NASA's Deep Impact website.
I have read and re-read this post and the NASA Web site, and I still can't figure out what this is about. Or maybe it's obvious and I just don't understand why one would do it.
So my name would just be encoded onto a CD and then obliterated? .... Whaaa?
do you use Movable Type or Type Pad? Would you recommend the system or is there anything that's not implemented that you'd like?
I'm using Livejournal at the moment and considering changing for the subjects feature, search facility, and possibly a newsletter feed to be introduced in the future.
Andrew - you got it, your name is encoded onto a CD, and boom! You're part of the biggest fireworks display in history.
Jamie - GearBits is powered by Movable Type 2.63. However, I've also used TypePad, and it is not a slouch at all. MT has more power and flexibility, but TP has a lot features for the price.