The memory of 85 people tragically killed in the 2018 Camp Fire lives on, engraved aboard NASA’s Perseverance rover that landed on Mars last week.
Two chips mounted aboard Perseverance contain the phrases "Paradise Strong" and "Town of Paradise, California," along with the names of the fire’s 85 victims "etched in tiny print onto a chip that is about the size of a quarter that will be visible on the rover," as reported by KRCR.
"The NASA Team was very touched by how many lives were affected by this fire," former NASA employee Jerry Stoces told the station. "We felt terrible for the lives lost and we wanted to do something special."
That they did.
Stoces’ close childhood friend lived in Paradise and survived the deadly wildfire, which destroyed most of the town itself.
"You try to have them be something other than a piece of scientific hardware," he added. "You hope it's something that will help you look beyond the horizon and have a bit of hope, not only a remembrance for those souls that were lost but have a bit of that grit and strength of the community rebounding riding with us too."
The "Paradise Strong" logo has also been displayed in Mission Control.
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