A name on a memory card, not a seat in Orion
According to NASA, the collected names will be recorded on an SD card carried inside Orion. The mission is due to take four astronauts around the Moon and bring them back to Earth in 2026. Public participation is therefore symbolic: the downloaded document grants neither spacecraft access nor a seat aboard.
That distinction matters when the pass is shared on social media. It borrows the visual language of a boarding pass, but its purpose is to represent participation. It is a campaign keepsake, without a transport booking.
The QR code is part of the souvenir pass
The Canadian page describes a personalised pass with a name, a patch and a QR code. That does not establish that the QR contains the list of participants or that it is the medium being sent into space. NASA’s announced storage medium and the public-facing document serve different purposes.
A QR image alone cannot establish its contents or associated permissions. How a QR code works helps distinguish the encoded information from the service that opens afterwards. The pass’s context remains essential to understanding what is being shown.
Official registration before 21 January 2026
NASA sets the registration deadline at 21 January 2026. To take part, start with the campaign link in its official announcement. The pass can then be downloaded as a keepsake. An image shared by another participant does not replace registering in your own name.
Before entering a name on a page found elsewhere, return to that official entry point. The guidance for checking a QR link remains useful when a widely shared image appears outside its original context.
A digital keepsake that is easy to save and share
The appeal also lies in letting people keep a visible record of their participation. The name makes the document personal; the boarding-pass format makes the idea immediately recognisable. The QR fits into that presentation without turning the keepsake into an admission credential.
For a cultural or community campaign, the practical lesson is to explain what the document represents and what scanning enables. A clear caption beside the QR code avoids leaving readers to guess the destination or the document’s significance.