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Space Topics: New Horizons Digital Time Capsule

Rules and Prizes

NOTE: The rules have been amended to extend the entry deadline to November 1, 2006 and to add information about the contest Grand Prize: a trip to the Applied Physics Laboratory to witness New Horizons' encounter with Jupiter!

Contest Theme - How to Enter - Judging - Dates - Prizes - Eligibility

Contest Theme

The New Horizons spacecraft is beginning a very long journey. From its January 2006 launch to its Pluto flyby in July 2015, the spacecraft will cruise through the emptiness of interplanetary space.

The Earth that New Horizons leaves behind, however, will not be the same as the Earth that watches for those Pluto images 9 years later. The Planetary Society invites children and adults everywhere to look around them and ask: what on Earth will have changed by the time New Horizons arrives at Pluto? Take a photo of something that you think will change in 9 years and submit it to our digital time capsule -- a snapshot of Earth in 2006.

The New Horizons Digital Time Capsule will be placed on a DVD and kept securely at Planetary Society Headquarters in Pasadena, California with a backup copy stored with the New Horizons project. As the spacecraft approaches its rendezvous with Pluto, it will send back a "family portrait" of the Pluto system.  The return of this image from the spacecraft will be used as the signal for the time capsule to be opened and shown to Earth 2015.  As we see a close up family portrait of Pluto and its moons, we will also look back on the images of Earth as it was when the spacecraft started its journey.

How to Enter

Anyone may enter.  Only one entry per person or per group is permitted.  An  entry consists of a photo of something that is likely to change between  now and 2015.  The photo can be of anything, including (but not limited  to) landscapes, buildings, technological devices, vehicles, living things,  etc.  The photo must have been captured by the person submitting it.  Photos  reflecting anticipated positive change in the future are particularly encouraged.  The  photo must be submitted in digital format (i.e. either captured with a digital camera or scanned from a hard copy) on this website.  The  photo must be in JPEG format, not exceeding 2 MB in size.

The photo should be accompanied by a brief caption, in English, describing  the subject of the image and the significance of its change over the 9-year  Pluto journey. Entrants who do not speak English are encouraged to  use an online translation tool, such as those available at Google.com, to translate a caption from their own language into English. Captions  are limited to a length of 500 characters.

Reproduction rights to all of the submitted photos will remain with the entrants.  However, all entrants shall agree that The Planetary Society is granted  non-exclusive reproduction rights for Planetary Society advertising, promotion,  print publication, Internet purposes, and any other technology for disseminating  information that may have arisen by the time of New Horizons’ arrival at Pluto. The Planetary  Society agrees not to sell any of the photos, or any reproductions, unless an  additional agreement is reached with the entrant. Unless they request  otherwise before selections are announced, entrants also agree that The Planetary Society can use selected entrants’ first and last names and their cities  and countries of origin in any media when referring to the selection of their entry for the time capsule.

Judging

Entries will be reviewed by an international panel of judges selected by The Planetary Society.  The panel will select a representative set of photos based upon: the perceived likelihood that the subject of the photo will change over the next 9 years; the aesthetic quality of the photograph; and the uniqueness of the subject.

Dates

Entries must be received at The Planetary Society's website by July 15, 2006 November 1, 2006 (see amendment to contest rules).  The time capsule will be closed in March 2007 after New Horizons crosses Jupiter's orbit.  It will not be reopened until the spacecraft arrives at Pluto.

Note that the spacecraft will arrive at Pluto in 2015 if it launches early in its launch period.  However, significant launch delays would cause changes in the orbital trajectory, delaying the spacecraft's arrival to as late as 2020.  The time capsule will be opened when the Pluto family portrait is returned shortly before Pluto encounter, however long the journey takes.

Amendment

This amendment to the contest rules was posted on July 11, 2006.

Dates

The contest entry deadline has been extended to November 1, 2006.

Prizes

Up to 100 entries selected by the judging panel will be included in the New Horizons Digital time capsule.  One Grand Prize Winner will be randomly selected from among those entries.

The Grand Prize Winner will receive a trip to the Applied Physics Laboratory, Baltimore, Maryland, USA, including travel expenses, food, and lodging, in order to witness New Horizons' closest approach to Jupiter on February 27 and 28, 2007.  If the Grand Prize Winner is under 18 as of February 1, 2007, the Grand Prize will also include companion travel for one accompanying parent or legal guardian. If the Grand Prize winning entry was submitted by a group, the group must identify one member among themselves who will receive the Grand Prize trip.

Eligibility

Entrants may be of any age and from any country.

To be eligible for the Grand Prize, entrants must satisfy one of the following: (a) be a citizen or legal resident of the United States; (b) hold a passport from a country whose citizens are not required to have visas in order to enter the United States; or (c) be able to obtain a passport and visa no later than January 15, 2007, allowing entry into and travel within the United States for the dates of February 24 through March 3, 2007.  In addition, entry into the Applied Physics Laboratory is subject to a security review.  Failure of this security review, or (in the case of non-U.S. citizens or legal residents) failure to obtain any necessary travel documents, will render an entrant ineligible to receive the Grand Prize.

Employees, Board members, and Advisors of The Planetary Society, employees of the Applied Physics Laboratory, and their immediate family members (i.e. spouses, parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren, and siblings) are not eligible to win the Grand Prize.

Note

In the event of the loss of the New Horizons spacecraft prior to the Jupiter encounter on February 27 and 28, 2007, the Grand Prize offer will become void.