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- The Philippines ranked 23rd at the first mission and is currently first for the second mission.
- This amused netizens as Filipinos seem to be trying to get away from their home country as national issues continue to rise.
With the closure of ABS-CBN, President Rodrigo Duterte describing himself as “inutile” regarding the fight for the West Philippine Sea, and the worsening situation of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines, it’s no surprise that the country leads the list of name submissions for future Mars space missions.
On July 30, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)’s Perseverance Mars Rover account tweeted about it launching, bringing with it almost 11 million people who will “join” the journey to the red planet via three silicon chips carrying their names.
NOW BOARDING: I’m ready to fly; are you? Grab your boarding pass and let’s go. #CountdownToMars
Get your boarding pass: https://t.co/6xyix6gsOM
New flyer? Send your name on a future mission: https://t.co/i1GsSnsFWf pic.twitter.com/GZkMljSB7Q
— NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) July 29, 2020
10,932,295 people submitted their names and the Philippines ranked 23rd with 69,995 names for #CountdownToMars.
But for a future mission, the country ranked first with around 2,000,000 names submitted as of writing, beating bigger countries such as the United States and India.
Thinking about the current happenings in the country, netizens were amused by the results of the project.
https://twitter.com/gretchenho/status/1288786471277666305
Nangunguna! Ilan kaya galing New Zealand? https://t.co/Ur2eZzq5NA
— Toñet (@tonetjadaone) July 30, 2020
https://twitter.com/jmspgd/status/1288926550188933120
https://twitter.com/Miss_Xairra/status/1288916621826785280
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is still collecting names for a mid-2020’s mission where a yet-to-be-identified spacecraft bound for Mars will carry the names.
“This opportunity will remain open and does not have a close date yet. A close date will be announced as the mission that will fly the names is identified. That’s a few years away, so in the meantime, tell your friends and family to sign up!” read NASA’s frequently asked questions page for the future mission.
