I'm sending my name to Jupiter's moon Europa on a NASA spacecraft — and here's why you should, too

An illustration of a spacecraft above Europa, with a blue swirly Jupiter in the background.

In 2024, if all goes to plan, a spacecraft named the Europa Clipper will embark on a journey to an icy, gray moon of Jupiter covered in rust-colored gashes. It will swim along the Jovian satellite's gravitational tides, half facing the orb from orbit, half exposed to the airless ocean of space. And alongside its high-tech spectrometer, radar system, optical imager and other instruments built to search for proof of alien habitats, the Europa Clipper will be bringing my name. It can bring yours, too.

You just have to sign up for NASA's free "Message in a Bottle program" here. The campaign closes at 11:59 p.m. EST on Dec. 31 (0459 GMT on Jan. 1); at the time I'm writing this, almost 900,000 names have been entered.