Send your name to Pluto

hatredman writes "NASA is preparing to send the New Horizons probe to Pluto. It will be the first earth device to get intimate with the icy planet. And you can be there too - or, at least, your name. NASA is asking everyone to send them their names, which will be attached in the space device. The New Horizons probe will be launched in January 2006 to explore Pluto and the Kuiper belt, in the outskirts of the Solar System. It is expected that the probe will return to earth in approximately 50 thousand years."

Doesn't work

[nokilli (759129)]

I entered Pluto Nium as my name, but when I check the site to make sure they've got me on the list it isn't there.

For some reason they don't want us to know Pluto Nium is on-board.
--
You didn't know. [tinyurl.com]

Re:Doesn't work

[Tackhead (54550)]

> I entered Pluto Nium as my name, but when I check the site to make sure they've got me on the list it isn't there.
>
> For some reason they don't want us to know Pluto Nium is on-board.

All hail the second coming of Archimedes! [wikipedia.org] Fifty thousand years hence, all shall see the wisdom of the PLUTONIUM ATOM TOTALITY!

Oh the possibilities!

[by Anonymous Coward]

Plutonian #1: Hey look, it's some kind of crashed probe.
Plutonian #2: I'll get the can opener!
*fooom*
P1: It's full of names, here is one, "Ivana Tinkle."
P2: I told you to go before we left the glarflog.

Re:Oh the possibilities!

[Mr2cents (323101)]

P1: I've entered all the names in our intergalactic search engine.
P2: So, what did it find?
P1: "Slashdot crowd"

Will people even be able to read the names??

[panaceaa (205396)]

I doubt the average person will be able to read the list of names when the probe comes back. The Latin alphabet [wikipedia.org] has only existed for 2,700 years, and the probe is coming back in 50,000. In 50,000 years, it's almost inevitable that either humanity will be communicating without written words, we'll be using an entirely different alphabet, or humanity will be extinct.

So what's the point of putting the names on the satellite? Is it the Gen-Xer's version of Voyager 1 [wikipedia.org]?

Re:Will people even be able to read the names??

[Vadim Makarov (529622)]

I doubt the average person will be able to read the list of names when the probe comes back. The Latin alphabet has only existed for 2,700 years, and the probe is coming back in 50,000. In 50,000 years, it's almost inevitable that either humanity will be communicating without written words, we'll be using an entirely different alphabet, or humanity will be extinct.

Chances are, the probe will be retrieved and placed into some sort of museum much earlier. If all goes well, the humanity will have nuclear drives and all that stuff for interstellar flights in mere few hundred of years. However, if it happens so that the humanity in, say, the next 500 years won't be interested in retrieving its earlier probes as historical artefacts, won't have the means of doing so or won't exist, THEN the next 49500 years or whatever long time won't change the situation either. The point is, the fate of the probe will be likely decided in the next 500 years, and not when it returns to Earth without interruption.

Great!

[jmartens (721229)]

I'll strart getting junk mail from Pluto!

URGENT AND CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS PROPOSAL

[Anne_Nonymous (313852)]

Dear Mr. jmartens:

I am Plutonia Pluton, widow of the late Plutonian Head of State, Gen. Plutonius Pluton...

I would pay $1,000...

[phaetonic (621542)]

if NASA would put "I'm with Uranus" next to an arrow.

50,000 years??

[tont0r (868535)]

seriously? what is the point? its a cute idea because 'HEY! LOOK! ITS THIS 50,000 YEAR OLD SATELLITE!!' but thats a long ass time for lots of things to go wrong. also a long ass time for people to forget 'hmm... NASA. what the hell is that??' sorry to sound trollish, but i would like to think that in 50,000 years, we could travel to pluto just fine. either that, or we will just be dead.

Re:50,000 years??

[m50d (797211)]

The data will be valuable so the probe might as well keep on collecting it. Sure, it will be relatively less important as time goes on - we'll know enough about most of the stuff out there to ignore it, but more data is always useful in science.

And I suspect it's simply a fuel saving to have it end up heading inwards, so point it at the earth, it might be useful.

So...

[chaboud (231590)]

Everyone who puts their name on the list gets vaporized when the residents of Pluto come looking for whoever bombed their pseudo-planet?

I'm game.

Re:So...

[gstoddart (321705)]

>blockquote>Everyone who puts their name on the list gets vaporized when the residents of Pluto come looking for whoever bombed their pseudo-planet?
Pseudo Planet? Impudent Earthling!!

Prepare to be vaporized.

50,000 Years?

[Crimsane (815761)]

For some reason NASA hired a bunch of outside consultants from the United States Postal Service to help plan this mission.

Can Pluto read?

[jlowery (47102)]

I'm sure Goofy can, but Pluto? He can't even talk.

you normally would say

[circletimessquare (444983)]

that you wouldn't want to get intimate with an icy planet

however, it's either that or get intimate with uranus

Binary CD?

[Lewisham (239493)]

Um, am I the only one wondering what the point of sending a CD is? Apart from the "prestiege" for the people on said CD, if any intelligent life picks it up, they're not exactly going to be able to read it are they?

I have trouble enough making sure my Windows using friends don't send me documents in PowerPoint format, let alone intelligent life understanding our alphabet, then working out ASCII code, then working out binary.

It's a standards nightmare to make Tim Berners-Lee cry.

Re:Binary CD?

[Gaima (174551)]

I'm inclined to the hope that any alien species sufficiently advanced enough to be space faring and catch the probe (and CD), would also be advanced enough to some day translate and understand the information.
What I'm not inclined to is the hope that the CD will last that long! Damn things barely last 2-3 years on Earth, let alone the radiation in space.

Re:Binary CD?

[baadger (764884)]

"let alone intelligent life understanding our alphabet, then working out ASCII code, then working out binary."

Well duh...thats what readme.txt is for

Dear Pluto

[ferrellcat (691126)]

From:Mbebmu Abacha, Lagos-Nigeria.

Dear Pluto,

Following the sudden death of my husband General Sani
Abacha the late former head of state of Nigeria in
june 1998, I have been thrown into a state of utter
confusion, frustration and hopelessness by the present
civilian administration, I have been subjected to
physical and psychological torture by the security
agents in the country. My son was just released from
detention few months ago by the Nigerian Government
for an offence he did not commit. As a widow that is
so traumatized, I have lost confidence with anybody
within the country.

You must have heard over the media reports and the
internet on the recovery of various huge sums of money
deposited by my husband in different security firms
abroad, some companies willingly give up their secrets
and disclosed our money confidently lodged there or
many outright blackmail. In fact the total sum
discovered by the Government so far is in the tune of
$700. Million dollars. And they are not relenting to
make me poor for life. I got your contacts through my
personal research, and out of desperation decided to
reach you through this medium.I will give you more
information as to this regard as soon as you reply.
I repose great confidence in you hence my approach to
you due to security network placed on my day to day
affairs I cannot afford to visit the embassy so that
is why I decided to contact you and I hope you will
not betray my confidence in you. I have deposited the
sum of 30.000.000 million dollars with a security firm
abroad whose name is witheld for now until we open
communication.I shall be grateful if you could receive
this fund into your account for safe keeping. This
arrangement is known to you and my son Ahmed alone, so
my son will deal directly with you as security is up
my whole being.I am seriously considering to settle
down abroad in a friendly atmosphere like yours as
soon as this fund get into your account so that I can
start all over again if only you wish, but if it is
impossible,just help me in diverting this fund into
your account which will accrue you 30% of this fund.
Please honesty is the watch word in this transaction.I
will require your telephone and fax numbers so that we
can commence communication immediately and I will give
you a more detailed picture of things. In case you
dont accept please do not let me out to the security
as I am giving you this information in total trust and
confidence .I will greatly appreciate if you accept my
proposal in good faith. Please expedite action by
sending your reply to my son email address below.

Sincerely Yours,

MBUMBE ABACHA.

Re:Kinda depressing

[slavemowgli (585321)]

It's going to take a lot less than that to get there, actually. The reason why the trip back will take so long is that it's not actually needed - it just so *happens* that the probe will probably return after 50000 years, but noone's actually really interested in it doing so (not today, anyway).

Of course, the trip to Pluto is going to take a couple of years, but not that much - you're certainly going to see it in your lifetime. Well, assuming you don't die first (but that goes without saying). :)

Re:No way

[Blue-Footed Boobie (799209)]

So, you obviously didn't listen to him and put it on there anyways...

Re:I. C. Weiner

[slavemowgli (585321)]

For that matter, try these (from the Simpsons):

Al Coholic
Oliver Clothesoff
I. P. Freely
Jacques Strap
Seymour Butz
Homer Sexual
Mike Rotch
Hugh Jass
Bea O'Problem
Amanda Huggenkiss
Ivana Tinkle
Anita Bath
Maya Buttreeks
Eura Snotball
Heywood U. Cuddleme

Re:How will the probe come back?

[OverlordQ (264228)]

It's called an orbit . . .

here's the wikipedia article [wikipedia.org].

Unless it has enough energy to leave the system, anything launched will eventually (after a long enough time) to Earth.

Re:How will the probe come back?

[techwolf (26278)]

Only if we mix the metric and imperial systems.