2020 Graduates Can Launch Their Photo Aboard Historic SpaceX Flight Students around the world can upload an image by Wednesday, May 20, to 'fly' to the International Space Station.
By Stephanie Mlot Edited by Jessica Thomas
This story originally appeared on PC Mag
For the Class of 2020, there are no stages to walk across, no tearful goodbye hugs, no clinking-glass toasts; the COVID-19 pandemic has forced this year's graduates to get creative. And nothing says pomp and circumstance like visiting the cosmos: SpaceX is inviting global students to submit their photo "to fly on America's first human spaceflight in nearly a decade."
Anyone who earned (or is scheduled to earn) their diploma this year — from kindergarten to graduate school — can upload a selfie to SpaceX's Earth mosaic, which will be printed and flown aboard the upcoming Crew Dragon mission to the International Space Station.
Next year, three paying space tourists will take a truly out-of-this-world trip to the International Space Station, courtesy of SpaceX and Axiom Space. Joined by NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, the history-making vacationers will spend at least eight days aboard the ISS before returning to Earth.
Add your picture online by Wednesday, May 20, for a chance to "fly" with Hurley and Behnken on the Crew Dragon "and commemorate your achievements," the SpaceX website said. Everyone else can play around with the digital artwork: Zoom in and out or scroll side to side to see the many submitted faces.
Facebook recently hosted a digital commencement (featuring Oprah Winfrey, Awkwafina, Jennifer Garner, Lil Nas X, Simone Bile, and Miley Cyrus), and encouraged individual students to hold their own at-home events with friends and family using the company's "virtual graduation hub." Subsidiary Instagram also introduced creative tools like a celebratory sticker pack, AR effects and the #Graduation2020 hashtag.
