Send Your Name Into Space

By Evan Ackerman

I don’t care how many bottle rockets you duct tape together, your He-Man action figure is not going to make it into orbit on his own. Now, thanks to MIT and Georgia Tech, you have the opportunity to send The Most Powerful Man In The Universe (or at least his likeness) into the universe itself. In order to fund the launch of a research satellite, surface area on the satellite is being sold to the public. Each square centimeter costs between $35 and $250, depending on whether you want a photo of your area from space (with Earth in the background) or even your area of the spacecraft returned to you after landing.

The actual nature of the research is a bit vague. According to the YNIS website, “this mission will provide the first data on how mammals are affected by long-term exposure to a reduced level of gravity, a critical first step towards human missions to other planets.” Hmm, interesting. Although it’s not mentioned explicitly on the YNIS website for some reason, the satellite will be carrying a mini space station for mice, which will (they hope) be returned safely to Earth after five weeks. So my question is, how much is one of these space mice, and which super power will it have?

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