World premiere: CNES, aware of philatelists' interest for space — especially among young stamp collectors — had the idea to launch a competition with La Poste to create a stamp for mail destined for Mars!
Although the trend today is to communicate digitally, CNES knows from experience that astronauts in space enjoy receiving mail from their relatives. Letters are therefore transported to the International Space Station (ISS) via cargo spacecraft.
It reasons then that the same may be true for future Mars explorers.
Although this activity today is more theoretical than practical, CNES and La Poste are inviting young people, 10 to 17 years old, to submit a design for a stamp between Jan. 30 and April 16 to enter to win, among other prizes, a trip to Guyana to witness a rocket launch.
The planet Mars was not chosen for this contest by chance. After the moon landings in the late 1960s, Mars is seen as the next destination for explorers to visit, even if it is not possible today to know when that adventure may launch as the mission will be complex to achieve.
The Red Planet is however relevant in 2012 as the biggest planetary rover ever built, the U.S. Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Curiosity, was launched with CNES as a partner in its mission. The rover, which is now cruising through interplanetary space, will land on Mars in early August 2012 after a voyage of eight months.
Calendar: "Stamp On Mars" art contest