NASA dey invite people to send their names go Titan, the biggest moon wey dey around Saturn. Na microchip inside Dragonfly spacecraft go carry the names. Dem announce this public campaign on October 29. Na symbolic way to join science mission to world wey get thick atmosphere, sand dunes and lakes of liquid methane.
NASA say anybody wey register through the official Dragonfly names campaign fit collect digital boarding pass with their name. Registration deadline na January 15, 2027, by 11:59 for night, US Eastern Standard Time. For Nigeria, na January 16 by 5:59 for morning. The boarding pass na souvenir; no be passenger ticket to enter spacecraft.
Dem still dey assemble Dragonfly for Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory for Maryland. According to NASA plan, launch suppose happen for 2028, and the spacecraft suppose reach Titan for 2034. Those dates na plans. E no mean say launch don happen or say the craft dey ready to leave now.
Dragonfly na rotorcraft wey dem design to fly from one location to another for Titan. Instead make e study only one place where e land, e suppose examine different environments. This movement between locations na important part of how NASA wan do the scientific work.
Titan get plenty organic material. Dragonfly go study prebiotic chemistry: chemical processes wey concern conditions before biology begin. Scientists wan understand the ingredients and conditions wey fit relate to life. To search for these clues no mean say dem don discover living things for Titan.
For Nigerian readers, the opportunity now na to register name, no be travel offer, scholarship or recruitment. Use the official NASA campaign link inside the announcement and read the current form requirements before you enter personal information. Another person boarding-pass picture no prove say your own registration don complete.
Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory dey lead the mission for NASA, with Elizabeth Turtle as principal investigator. Keep the three main dates separate: public registration ends for January 2027, launch plan na 2028, and arrival plan na 2034. Each one na different stage for the long journey.