NASA Gathering Names for Asteroid Mission

Following the well-received Mars One application process, which saw approximately 20,000 astro-wannabes submit their names to colonize the Red Planet, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's collecting names for an asteroid mission.

There aren't any plans to settle the lonely chunk of space rock; instead, the space agency is giving enthusiasts the chance to have their names etched on microchips that will be carried to the asteroid and back again.

And, should the mission be intercepted by some curious extraterrestrials, they could well read the names too.

The names are being logged by NASA and the Planetary Society, an international space enthusiast group, for the OSIRIS-REx mission, to be launched toward the asteroid Bennu in 2016.

The names of all who, by Sep. 30, sign up at the "Messages to Bennu!" Website, at https://planetary.org/bennu, will be etched onto two microchips that will be carried aboard the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft.

Assuming the $800-million mission goes as planned, the spacecraft will arrive at the 1,760-foot-wide (500-meter-wide) asteroid in 2018 and then commence two years of study, during which it will collect least 2 ounces of surface material. The probe will then shoot back a capsule containing the asteroid sample back to Earth in 2023.

One name microchip will return home with the capsule while another copy will be stowed on the probe, not remain in outer space for a long, long time.

"It's a great opportunity for people to get engaged with the mission early and join us as we prepare for launch," said Dante Lauretta, a principal investigator for the OSIRIS-REx mission. "We're thrilled to be able to share the OSIRIS-REx adventure with people across the Earth."

Jason Dworkin, mission project scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., noted it's an exciting possibility "that some of the people who register to send their names to Bennu could one day be a part of the team that analyzes the samples from the asteroid 10 years from now."

The nonprofit society's CEO, Dr. Bill Nye, otherwise known by generations of television viewers as "Bill Nye the Science Guy," said those whose names will be transported to Bennu will be "part of humankind's exploration of the solar system -- How cool is that?"

Participants who "follow" or "like" the mission on Facebook will as well receive updates on the location of their names in space, from launch time until the asteroid samples return to Earth.

Facebook fans also will be kept updated on mission progress and breaking news through regular status updates.