"NASA's VIPER Mission Offers Public a Lunar Legacy by Sending Names to the Moon"
NASA is offering the public an opportunity to send their names to the moon aboard the VIPER rover, which will launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket in late 2024 to search for water ice at the moon's south pole. This initiative is part of NASA's Artemis program, which aims to establish crewed bases in the same region. Interested individuals can submit their names through a NASA website until March 15. The VIPER mission is facilitated by NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program and will be the first mission for Astrobotic's Griffin lander. This public engagement campaign continues NASA's tradition of carrying names on space missions, as seen with the Orion capsule during the Artemis 1 mission.