The eXoplanetary Research Institute (XRI)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
San Francisco, CA

If you've ever dreamed of going to space, then this may be the best opportunity that you'll get within your lifetime. In a few days, the eXoplanetary Research Institute (XRI) will begin offering citizen scientists the opportunity to drive a rover on an alien planet.

Robert Turing, Interstellar Communications Engineer at XRI and liaison for the Extrasolar program, explained the unprecedented opportunity. "Traveling to another solar system -- even a close one -- is no trivial task. Instead of putting all our eggs in one basket with one expensive robotic vehicle, we instead chose to send dozens of low-cost rovers."

Turing explained that the initial plan was to expand the XRI staff to pilot the rovers, but during the 12+ years it's taken for the spacecraft to complete its journey the team realized that crowdsourcing offered an ideal alternative. "By leveraging volunteers, we can keep our costs down and share this experience with a larger audience," Turing explained. "After all, something as important as the first expedition beyond our solar system should be open to all of humanity."

Interested participants should apply at extrasolar.com.