Mars enthusiasts around the world can participate in NASA’s journey to Mars by adding their names to a silicon microchip headed to the Red Planet aboard NASA’s InSight Mars lander, scheduled to launch next year.
“Our next step in the journey to Mars is another fantastic mission to the surface,” said Jim Green, director of planetary science at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “By participating in this opportunity to send your name aboard InSight to the Red Planet, you’re showing that you’re part of that journey and the future of space exploration.”
Submissions will be accepted until Sept. 8.
The fly-your-name opportunity comes with “frequent-flier” points to reflect an individual’s personal participation in NASA’s journey to Mars, which will span multiple missions and multiple decades. The InSight mission offers the second such opportunity for space exploration fans to collect points by flying their names aboard a NASA mission, with more opportunities to follow.
Last December, the names of 1.38 million people flew on a chip aboard the first flight of NASA’s Orion spacecraft, which will carry astronauts to deep space destinations including Mars and an asteroid. After InSight, the next opportunity to earn frequent flier points will be NASA’s Exploration Mission-1, the first planned test flight bringing together the Space Launch System rocket and Orion capsule in preparation for human missions to Mars and beyond.
InSight will launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, in March 2016 and land on Mars Sept. 28, 2016. The mission is the first dedicated to the investigation of the deep interior of the planet. It will place the first seismometer directly on the surface of Mars to measure Martian quakes and use seismic waves to learn about the planet’s interior. It also will deploy a self-hammering heat probe that will burrow deeper into the ground than any previous device on the Red Planet. These and other InSight investigations will improve our understanding about the formation and evolution of all rocky planets, including Earth.
Send your name on InSight
Intruder found on easyJet flight
An intruder got on to an Easyjet flight at Gatwick Airport with no passport or boarding pass before the departure gate had opened.
Police were called when a 51-year-old woman boarded the plane to Tenerife just after 07:00 BST without a ticket or identification documents.
They arrested the German national on suspicion of entering a security restricted area without permission.
The flight was delayed for about an hour while passengers were rescreened.
A spokesman for Sussex Police said: “Police were called to the North Terminal departure gate 111 in Gatwick airport… to a report a woman had boarded an Easyjet flight to Tenerife before boarding had actually started.
“Airport staff found that she had no ID, no passport and no boarding pass.
“The plane was rescreened for security purposes and all the passengers were allowed to board and continue with their journey.”
In a statement on its website, Easyjet said the flight was delayed for about an hour because of “additional security checks in Gatwick”.
A Gatwick Airport spokeswoman said “there was no risk to passenger security” and it was investigating the matter “with all relevant parties”.
“As a precautionary measure, all passengers on flight EZY8703 disembarked the plane to be rechecked through security,” she added.
BBC News
Scoot becomes first “all Dreamliner” airline
SINGAPORE: Scoot, Singapore’s great value budget carrier, became the first airline in the world to operate an all-Dreamliner fleet when its seventh 787 entered scheduled service yesterday.
In a statement, the airline said Scoot’s last 777-200 retired in style with a pyjama party on its final flight on the Singapore-Taipei-Tokyo route.
Scoot’s chief executive officer Campbell Wilson said: “Since deploying our first Dreamliner in February this year, we have transitioned to an all-787 fleet in record time – just seven months.
“It is therefore appropriate that our latest Dreamliner sports the name ‘Lickity-Split’.”
Campbell added that Scoot’s 787 had allowed the airline to set a new standard in budget travel, with great new offerings such as WiFi Internet connectivity, streaming entertainment and in-seat power throughout the aircraft, complementing the many choices already enjoyed by its guests.
Scoot has a firm order of 20 787s, split equally between 335-seat 787-8’s and 375-seat 787-9’s.
To commemorate being the first in the world to operate an all-787 fleet, Scoot is practically giving away tickets to destinations across the network.
It is offering an Economy Fly ticket from Singapore to Bangkok from only S$8 and to other Scoot destinations from just S$48, as well as ScootBiz perks starting from S$138.
The sale started yesterday until 11.50 pm on Sept 6.
The one-way fares from Singapore exclude taxes and surcharges. — Bernama
Borneo Post