I've been to outer space, how about you?

Ever 'googled' yourself? I did, and found out that my name was on a microchip with a million other earthlings that went into space and returned. It was project Stardust, the first NASA mission to return particles from beyond the Earth Moon orbit. Our brave little spacecraft was launched on February 7, 1999 from Cape Canaveral. Weighing only 770 pound, it is the size of an average desk, except for the solar panels, which extend several feet in the front and back.

The plan was to fly by the Comet P/Wild 2 at a relatively slow 6 km/sec (about 6 times the speed of a rifle bullet,) and capture comet dust within a sticky substance called aerogel. January 2, 2004 the successful flyby of the 3 mile diameter comet took place.

Then the return capsule was jettisoned back to earth, where it landed in the Utah desert in the early morning hours of January 15, 2006. The rest of Stardust still roams outer space.

Back to my original discovery of names in space. It seems NASA wanted to put a human face on this project, and encouraged people to submit names to go on microchips. Not just my name is on the chip, but the whole LaBelle clan. I asked my parents if they put our names on it, and they said no. I'm going to assume it's my brother, who has a place in Florida, or his kids who visit, who put our family name into the cosmos on a trip to NASA. Also on the microchips are pictures of the project's creators and managers, like this one, where they pose with Buzz Lightyear. This is really going to improve our image with aliens.

In checking the other names on the list, there is a George Bush (minus the W,) but no Dick Cheney or Karl Rove. A lack of other notable politicos makes me think its not THE George Bush, so the 'taint' is off this project.