SpaceX Calls On Class Of 2020 To Launch Their Photos On Crew Dragon

SpaceX is calling on the class of 2020 to submit their photos ahead of the Crew Dragon-2 mission. Those who send in their photos will have a truly unique way of celebrating their graduation.

"In an effort to celebrate the class of 2020 — from kindergarten to graduate school — SpaceX and NASA are inviting students from around the world to submit their photo to fly on America's first human spaceflight in nearly a decade," SpaceX said.

Anyone who has graduated or is set to graduate this year may submit their photos, which will be integrated into a mosaic image of the Earth, printed out and flown aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft when it launches.

The deadline for submissions is May 20.

The Crew Demo-2 mission is set to launch May 27 from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley will be the first astronauts to fly aboard the Crew Dragon to and from the International Space Station (ISS).

The historic mission will be the first time American astronauts will launch aboard an American rocket from American soil in nearly a decade since 2011, when the Space Shuttle was retired. Since then, American astronauts have had to hitch a ride aboard the Russian Soyuz rockets to get to the ISS.

To mark the historic moment, NASA revived the retro "worm" logo, which can already be seen plastered onto the side of the Falcon 9.

Behnken and Hurley are currently under pre-flight quarantine before they report to the Kennedy Space Center on May 20. This is a standard routine before all flights to ensure the astronauts will not accidentally bring any contagious diseases to the ISS, a measure that is particularly significant given the coronavirus pandemic.

Should Demo-2 prove successful and SpaceX's human flight system is certified by NASA, astronauts Victor Glover, Mike Hopkins, Shannon Walker and JAXA's Soichi Noguchi will fly aboard the Dragon on its first six-month operational mission (Crew-1), which is targeted for later in 2020.