Posted on by Ian O'Neill

NASA to Burn Sponsor Logos into the Surface of Mars

NOTE: This was the Universe Today’s contribution to April Fools Day (April 1st), but it isn’t all a joke… International efforts in space are being seriously hindered by budget cuts, forcing agencies to think up alternative methods to raise money. The following article could be a possibility…

In an effort to raise additional funds, NASA has announced new partnerships with corporate sponsors. It is becoming increasingly difficult for government-backed space agencies to support the vast range of missions currently exploring the solar system, so urgent measures are being taken. Planetary missions in particular, such as the Mars Exploration Rover project, have fallen on tough times. As already demonstrated by research groups in the UK, funds from private companies are essential for survival and some weird and wonderful methods to capture public interest have already been exploited.

Now it is the perfect time for the biggest marketing stunt yet: tattoo Mars with corporate logos for orbiting spacecraft and ground-based telescopes to observe…

With millions of dollars being injected into the commercial space market, companies such as Virgin Galactic, Astrium and XCOR are all beginning to dominate the fledgling space flight industry. Where government space agencies such as NASA and ESA have spearheaded technological advancement, the void left behind is slowly being filled by space tourism companies all competing for short trips into space and, eventually, tours to the Moon with the prospect of Mars in a few decades time.

But what about all the robotic missions exploring the solar system now? Who pays for them? Well, that is up to government funding and initiatives. As recently highlighted by the UK’s £80 million ($160 million) research budget shortfall, and the attempt to cut $4 million from the NASA Mars rovers, there appears to be international pressure on government-funded groups to think “out of the box” where money is concerned. After all, scientific research (on the whole) is not political, but scientific funding is.

The Lovell Telescope at Jodrell Bank (credit: Jodrell Bank)

So, in an unprecedented move, UK astronomers carried out an unorthodox measure and transmitted Doritos ads into space to help fund the beleaguered Jodrell Bank Telescope in Cheshire currently under threat from closure due to funding cuts. This might sound silly, but the undisclosed advertising revenue was much needed.

Although there is a slim-to-no-chance of aliens picking up the interstellar ad, NASA was obviously paying attention. Today, the space agency has announced an offbeat plan of their own: to burn sponsor logos into the surface of Mars. It’s not quite as reckless as it sounds, but existing technology on board the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) will be used to etch sponsor logos into the top layers of the Martian regolith. The stunt is expected to have minimal effect on the planet, as winds and dust storms will erase the ads within a couple of sols (Martian days).

“Just think, 3 years ago, we wouldn’t have the optical capabilities to spot an advertisement from orbit. But now, with the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, and its ability to resolve objects as small as half a meter, we’ll be able to see our sponsors ads clearly etched into the Martian surface.” – Dr. Francis Rae, NASA Outreach Spokeswoman.

The MRO has a laser-ranging instrument on board that usually takes highly accurate measurements of landscape features. Scientists have modified the laser to emit a higher powered beam so small areas of Martian regolith can be fused together. It is expected to use the surplus power available from the ultra-efficient solar panels on the satellite. After a few orbits, corporate logos and other ads may be constructed, creating logos spanning small 5×5 meter areas of Mars plains and crater bottoms. Of course, the logos created will be crude, and will only be available in shades of red, but the marketing and psychological impact will be huge. It is hoped the advertising revenue will follow suit.

An artists impression of what a large-scale logo may look like from space (credit: NASA)

This is only for starters. If all goes well, huge areas of the surface may be used, possibly allowing Earth-observable logos. Doritos, famed with the UK’s ad transmission into space, has already backed NASA’s plans and fully intends to support any marketing campaign carried out by the robotic explorers. An excerpt from a Pepsi Co, Inc. statement reads, “…the Doritos snack division of our corporation is always looking for new and novel ways to promote our products, branding an alien planet with our logo will not only be historic, it will revolutionize product marketing.” They add at the bottom of the press release, “Besides, it will be very cool.” An artists impression of a huge Doritos logo next to a crater observed by the MRO (HiRISE instrument) has also been released (pictured).

Other Mars missions are now being evaluated for their potential marketing skills, and an obvious mission that comes to mind are the Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity. Easier than tattooing the planet from orbit, the rovers could quickly create tire tracks into shapes that can be observed from space.

Tracks from Opportunity are clearly seen from orbit by the HiRISE camera (credit: NASA)

When asked whether the Phoenix lander had any such capability, Rae commented, “I really wish we’d thought that through better.” The lander will only be able to dig crude shapes into the regolith should it be called into fund-raising action. It seems doubtful that sponsors would be interested in this mission which is arriving at the Red Planet in May.

This leads to the question: Will a NASA mission be measured more for its revenue building ability, or for its scientific merit? “I doubt it will come to that, we’re not a private enterprise, science is our priority,” Rae added.

Other marketing tools are at mission planners’ fingertips. Some fun options include:

  • Physically moving rocks around the Martian landscape by future advanced rovers to assemble messages, take photos and send them back to Earth – the ultimate personal postcard message!
  • The future of terraforming the planet could include growing lichen in the shape of sponsor logos (imagine how much Pizza Hut would pay to have the very first life on Mars growing in the shape of their hut logo!)
  • Send a personal item on a Mars-bound mission and get the lander to place it on the planet, take a photo and pay for the pleasure of seeing something you own in the Martian dirt! Just don’t expect it back… (An orbital version has already been done by Bigalow Aerospace…)

Source: NASA Press Release

40 Replies to “NASA to Burn Sponsor Logos into the Surface of Mars”

  2. I saw this headline and sat there stunned… then I remembered today’s date.

    Happy April Fool’s Day!

  5. Fight Club anyone?

    “When deep space exploration ramps up,
    it’ll be the corporations that name everything.

    The IBM Stellar Sphere.

    The Microsoft Galaxy.

    The Planet Starbucks.”

  6. Great Ian,

    as a fan of your reports I like each of them.
    This one is another example in a long row of scientific excellent writer cradftsmanship.

    The idea is so brilliant.
    Will they also find a way to make it light emitting ?
    Lets say bake with that laser a fluorescent crystal with the ad ?

    I love these fiction reports.

    keep them coming

  8. I don’t know what’s more impressive… that he wrote it, or that it’s one of the longer articles I’ve seen ><

    Happy April fool’s day

  9. I think the joke was revealed too soon, spoil sports! I agree with Steve, would have been good if it lasted a little longer without people blowing the lid off the story. Oh well, good try 🙂 Hehe, thanks Francis Rae for your invaluable statement in the story, muchly appreciated 😉

    Cheers, Ian

    PS. I actually think advertising on Mars would be an interesting idea… lets see if NASA is listening…

  11. I don’t understand why everyone thinks it’s a joke. Our own planet has been nothing but a billboard for aliens for quite some time. What do you think crop circles are?

  12. think of all the dorito cults about chip eating aliens that’ll spawn 5,000 years from now. there lives are in your hands!!

  13. I think we should duplicate some of the crop circle designs seen in England, so that when the Martians come out of their houses in the morning, they’ll know we’re on to them!

  14. Arrgh. You got me. And I woke up this morning with every intention not to fall for this kind of thing.

    Uh…this is an April Fools joke, right?

  15. Well that’s great.., but when will NASA and the rest of the world start focusing on more serious topics? Like the eradication of DHMO, for example. Dihydrogen Monoxide kills thousands of people every year. In fact, in the year 2004 alone, at least 300,000 people died from this deadly chemical compound. Get the word out! We must get this killer substance banned and keep it off of our planet once and for all!!

  16. The sad thing is, I can see this happening in a couple of decades.

    Still, good one!

  17. tsk tsk to all those that actually said “haha, happy April fools day”. The real enjoyment would have come from the idiot that would have responded with: “we need to prevent this at all costs to preserve the Martian environment!”

  19. I heard that Kraft is hoping to build a cheese theme park on the moon. And isn’t the Mars candy company planning something big for their Milkyway bar?

  20. Thank GOD its April Fools Day! I was about to lose my breakfast all over the place!!

    But yes I wont be surprised to see things like this in the future; people tend to give in to the most absurd things for advertisers. I hate marketing and advertising in all its forms.

  23. Okay, this is clearly an April Fools joke (and I hope NASA is NOT listening!).

    However, I’ve been wondering about the TV and billboard ads I’ve seen recently, suggesting that a beer company will be projecting “moonvertising” on the full moon using green lasers.

    Somebody please tell me that, too, is a joke.

  24. Ha ha *sarcasm*. Having read all this my hopes were getting high. Actual advertisement on Mars wouldve been like saying that actual human Mars exploration wouldve been possible sooner than later. But lo and behold, I forgot what day it was.

  27. That was a good one, Fraser. Thanks. My eyes are watering, as if from an Onion.

  29. Cute, I mean really, Happy April’s Fool to you also. BUT, don’t forget how soon sky-writing became a commercial industry that helped fund aviation.

    You look up, just after the sun sets, you see Marry Me Bertha! glaring as ionized gas in NEO. How hard to design a “smoker” satellite with retros configured for complex manuvering?

    My bet is we see such within 25 years, or less, maybe much less. Hopefully they design an eraser for the biggest chalkboard ever.

  30. For all of those who missed the “unmissable” the BBC broadcast an excellant film of Peguins flying to South America for their holidays. The film was so realistic that many people were fooled.

  31. I’m glad it’s April Fool’s Day because that would be a horrible idea! Disfiguring some clean planet’s environment with ugly logos that no one finds appealing…I don’t think nearly enough people would be looking on the surface of Mars for it to be worth it for the company anyway.

  34. I had actually heard they were going to put the Nike tick symbol on the moon.
    What a bunch of Lunatics!

  35. I think it’s an obscene move. We are such a self-consumed race of people that we should imprint
    symbols of our own disease of consumerism on such
    places as our neighbor, Mars….. amazing.

  36. Wow. This one really had me worked up, heh a real scare.

    I know it was a joke, but does anyone else feel that there is something very inherently wrong with marking other planets with brand names (one of the lowest common denominators of our culture)?

    The idea is not very far fetched. International business certainly has the money to be big players in space exploration, and might indeed prove an attractive last resort for underfunded government projects.

    But imagine the history books in the decades after. Michael Maniaci’s quoting of Fight Club is a good example of what it might sound like:

    “When deep space exploration ramps up,
    it’ll be the corporations that name everything.

    The IBM Stellar Sphere.

    The Microsoft Galaxy.

    The Planet Starbucks.”

    Yikes!

  39. I was about [ ] this close to believing the article (ok I believed it).

    I was thinking to myself “Yeah, great. Aliens come to the Solar System, make a pitstop at Mars and find Doritos, Pepsi, etc. logos. Why don’t they burn images of Einstein, Newton and Darwin into Mars?” And then the April Fools thing comes up. Dammit!

  40. Hey, nice tips. I’ll buy a glass of beer to that man from that chat who told me to go to your blog 🙂

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