Flight to Mars: Over 130,000 Indians 'book ticket' to Mars

Around 1,38,899, people from India are Mars-bound. They have 'booked' a flight to the Red Planet via Nasa's InSight (Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport) mission slated for launch on May 5, 2018. Nasa states that those who submitted their names were provided online 'boarding passes' for the mission.

The names are being etched on a silicon wafer microchip using an electron beam to form letters with lines one one-thousandth the diameter of a human hair. This chip will then be attached to the top hull of the lander.

Several Indians responded to Nasa's call for names for the Mars mission. The total number of names received by Nasa from all over the world is 2,429,807.

According to Nasa on Wednesday, India ranks third in the global list with regard to the number of names submitted for the Mars mission.

A picture of Mars taken by India’s Mars Orbiter Spacecraft.

InSight’s role is not only to study Mars, but also to gain broader insight into the formation of rocky planets in the entire solar system.