More than two million people on Earth sent their names to NASA for subsequent shipment to Mars in 2018, among them more than 60 thousand Russians, according to the American space agency.
In early October, NASA announced a second round of naming to be sent to Mars on a special chip that will be aboard the InSight research probe. Applications were accepted through November 1, inclusive, US East Coast Time.
Nearly 2.4 million people applied for applications just before midnight. Of these, over 653 thousand people live in the United States, 260 thousand - in China. 63.5 thousand applications were received from Russia, this is the sixth country in terms of the number of submitted applications. The inhabitants of small Equatorial Guinea showed the least interest: only seven names were received from this country. Among all the states of America, the most active were residents of California, who sent more than 107 thousand names.
The names of the project participants will be stamped on a silicon microchip that will be placed on the InSight research probe. The launch of the probe is scheduled for May 2018, its arrival on Mars should take place in November next year.
The device will be equipped with two chips with the names of earthlings. The first was prepared in 2015: then almost 827 people sent their names to NASA.
InSight will be the first mission to explore the inner layers of the Red Planet. The probe will install a seismograph on the planet to measure the movements of internal rocks and the impact of meteorites - this will allow scientists to learn more about the structure of the planet. The probe will also conduct drilling on Mars and other experiments that will reveal more about its formation and development.