[FPSPACE] FW: NASA Kepler Mission Offers Opportunity to Send Names into Space

[LARRY KLAES]

>From: NASA News <nasanews at mail.arc.nasa.gov>
>To: ames-releases at lists.arc.nasa.gov
>Subject: NASA Kepler Mission Offers Opportunity to Send Names into Space
>Date: Mon, 5 May 2008 10:34:41 -0700
>
>
>
>Michael Mewhinney				May 5, 2008
>NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
>650-604-3937
>Michael.S.Mewhinney at nasa.gov
>
>RELEASE: 08-38AR
>
>NASA KEPLER MISSION OFFERS OPPORTUNITY TO SEND NAMES INTO SPACE
>
>MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. - How cool would it be to have your name on board the 
>spacecraft that discovers the first known Earth-like planet beyond our 
>solar system?  Well, here's your chance.
>
>NASA today announced an opportunity for anyone to submit their name to be 
>included on a DVD and rocketed into space as part of NASA's Kepler Mission, 
>scheduled to launch in February 2009 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
>
>"This mission will provide our first knowledge of Earth-like planets beyond 
>our solar system," said Kepler Mission principal investigator William 
>Borucki.
>
>The Name in Space DVD will be mounted on the exterior of the spacecraft in 
>November 2008.  A video of the DVD being mounted on the spacecraft will be 
>taken and posted on the Kepler Mission Website prior to the spacecraft 
>being shipped to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in December of this year. A 
>copy of the DVD with all of the names and messages will be given to the 
>Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum, Washington.
>
>"It's a way for the public to participate in our space program," explained 
>David Koch, deputy principal investigator for the Kepler Mission. According 
>to Koch, there's no limit to the number of names that can be submitted for 
>inclusion on the DVD.
>
>  "We're looking for several million names," Koch said.  "The only 
>limitation is people's interest."
>
>Anyone who wants to participate in the Name in Space project should submit 
>their name, the state or country they live in and if they desire, a short 
>statement (500 words or less) answering the question: "Why do you think the 
>Kepler Mission is important?"  The deadline for submissions to the Kepler 
>Mission Web site is Nov. 1, 2008.
>
>Certificates of Participation will be available for printing from the 
>Kepler Mission Web site. The certificate states that the person whose name 
>has been submitted has been included on the list of names launched in 2009 
>with the Kepler spacecraft into orbit around the sun. There is no charge 
>for participating in the project or for printing the certificate.
>
>Name in Space is an international activity associated with the 
>International Year of Astronomy 2009 in recognition of the 400th 
>anniversary of Johannes Kepler's publication of his first two laws of 
>planetary motion.
>
>Kepler is a NASA Discovery mission. NASA Ames is the home organization of 
>the science principal investigator and is responsible for the ground system 
>development, mission operations and science data analysis. Kepler Mission 
>development is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, 
>Calif.  Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo., is responsible 
>for developing the Kepler flight system.
>
>To submit names and learn more about the Kepler Mission, visit:
>
>http://kepler.nasa.gov/
>
>
>For more information about NASA programs, visit:
>
>http://www.nasa.gov
>
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>--
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