Send Your Name on the First Orion Flight and Beyond!

NASA is inviting the public to send their names on a microchip to destinations beyond low-Earth orbit, including Mars.

Your name will begin its journey on a dime-sized microchip when the agency′s Orion spacecraft launches Dec. 4, 2014, on its first flight, designated Exploration Flight Test-1. After a 4½-hour, two-orbit mission around Earth to test Orion′s systems, the spacecraft will travel back through the atmosphere at speeds approaching 20,000 mph and temperatures near 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit, before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean.

But the journey for your name doesn′t end there. After returning to Earth, the names will fly on future NASA exploration flights and missions to Mars.

The deadline for receiving a personal “boarding pass″ on Orion′s test flight closes Oct. 31, 2014. The public will have an opportunity to keep submitting names beyond Oct. 31 to be included on future test flights and future NASA missions to Mars.

To submit your name to fly on Orion′s flight test, visit http://mars.nasa.gov/participate/send-your-name/orion-first-flight/.

Join the conversation on social media using the hashtag #JourneyToMars.

For information about Orion and its first flight, visit http://www.nasa.gov/orion.

Questions about this opportunity should be directed to Brandi Dean at brandi.k.dean@nasa.gov.