Want to send your name to Europa on a NASA mission? Follow these easy steps before Jan 1

NASA is sending a spacecraft to Jupiter's Moon Europa in 2024 and you have a chance to send your name with it. The deadline ends on January 1 and you can be part of the mission by visiting the link here. All you have to do is click on the link and fill in the required details like name, email and zip code.

NASA says the names of individuals will be stenciled onto the dime-sized silicon microchips that will be mounted on the spacecraft. Each line of the text will be around 75 nanometers long i.e. about 1/1000th the width of the human hair.

Notably, the Clipper spacecraft is also engraved with a poem by U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón which connects the water world Earth to its counterpart Europa. Slated for launch in October 2024, the Europa Clipper spacecraft will travel around 2.9 billion km before reaching its destination in 2030. 

About the Europa Clipper mission

The Europa Clipper mission is NASA's attempt to explore Jupiter's Moon which has shown strong evidence of a vast ocean hidden beneath its icy crust. The crust is estimated to be around 15 to 25 km thick. Water is one of the most crucial elements for the origin of life and Clipper will carry out dozens of flybys of Europa to determine if it has conditions suitable for life.

Interestingly, Clipper is the largest spacecraft NASA has ever built for a planetary mission. It spans more than 100 feet or 30.5 meters when its solar arrays are full deployed. Equipped with nine instruments, the spacecraft weighs about 3241 kg without any propellant.

During the course of the mission, the spacecraft will map the icy Moon's internal ocean, surface composition and geology thus helping scientists "understand the astrobiological potential for habitably worlds beyond our planet," says the mission description. Clipper will also be looking out for the vents that might be spraying water and gases into outer space.