So you thought earning the Foursquare Barista Badge from Starbucks was a big deal? Well, NASA’s Curiosity rover just checked in on Mars. It also claimed the mayorship, a title that most likely won’t be stolen anytime soon.
As one of the world’s most popular gamified systems, Foursquare now has check-ins present on two planets. Curiosity used the mobile application to check in to the Red Planet when it landed and earned the title of “mayor” yesterday, after checking into the venue more than anyone else in the past 60 days. Depending on how you look at it, that title is pretty easy (or difficult) to earn.
Believe it or not, this isn’t the first time Foursquare has gone to space. In 2010, Astronaut Doug Wheelock checked into the International Space Station.
Despite its mayorship, the NASA rover won’t earn any special perks, but you can. Foursquare users can earn a Curiosity-themed badge by checking in at museums, laboratories and other science, engineering and technology-focused locations. NASA says it’s a way to generate interest in the Mars mission.
“This will help to involve the public with the mission and give them a sense of the rover’s travels,” said David Weaver, associate administrator for communications at NASA.
While Curiosity is likely to retain its mayorship for a while, perhaps in the not-so-distant future others could be checking in too.
You can read more about the mission here.
