By Madeline Holcombe
Earth is in need of a little love and attention and there’s no better way to show you care than by adopting a piece of our home planet.
To help celebrate Earth Day, NASA has sectioned off 64,000 individual pieces of Earth to be adopted by individuals around the globe.
Each piece is about 55 miles wide and was assigned at random, according to CNN. The program works in the same way as adopting a highway, or a manatee: Participants pay to support a piece of the Earth, however they do not receive legal or property rights in return. However, instead of a brand new 55-mile property, what you do get is in-depth scientific data about your tiny corner of the world, as well as a badass certificate showing you as an adoptive planet parent.
“NASA continually looks outward to find and learn about planets in our solar system and beyond, but no planet is better studied than the one we actually live on,” NASA said in a statement. “Our fleet of 18 Earth science missions in space, supported by aircraft, ships and ground observations, measure aspects of the environment that touch the lives of every person around the world.”
NASA’s goal is to have all 64,000 pieces of the world adopted by Earth Day. My piece of the Earth is a chilly corner of Antarctica. While not the beach home of my dreams, I’m happy to share the space with a penguin or two.
To add to its effort to educate earthlings on our planet, NASA will also partner with Amazon on April 26 for the first 4K live stream from space.
- Originally appeared at cnn.com