Home » Poems » Mark Toney » My Name is Etched on Insight Lander

Notes About The Poem

I wrote this lyric poem to the tune of "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" (Songwriters: Douglass Cross / George C. Jr Cory). Why would I do that? Well, my name is etched on a microchip aboard NASA's InSight mission to Mars along with 2,429,807 other names from around the world. Insight launched on May 5, 2018, and landed on Mars on November 26, 2018. It successfully performed its mission until its batteries gradually weakened because of accumulated dust on its solar panels. On December 15, 2022, the lander made its final transmission to Earth. Elton said it best, "It's lonely out in space." ;)

My Name is Etched on Insight Lander

My name is etched
On Insight Lander
On Martian soil
It waits for me
To be where gravity is low
So be careful where you go
Mars’ atmosphere has little air
So beware
My name’s still etched
On Insight Lander
Along with miliions
Who like me dream
If we can get to you
Insight Lander
Your solar panels
We’ll surely clean

funhumanityinspirationjourneysonglyric

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Lin Lane

January 11, 2024 at 10:24 AM

I'm glad I live on Venus if that's the way Martians are. I'll thank you to stay away from my solar panels!

Mark Toney

January 11, 2024 at 10:21 PM

What a fun comment, Lin. There’s no dust on your solar panels! You’re always operating at 100%. Thanks for brightening my day :)

Paghunda Zahid

January 2, 2024 at 9:44 AM

Haha well congratulations for being on Mars... I hope someday we will be able to visit these planets... And the journey won't take long. I am pretty hopeful we gonna invest teleportation techniques soon, or may be we will discover a warmhole somewhere here, and would be able to travel universe through that. Hopefully!!

Mark Toney

January 3, 2024 at 6:02 AM

Thank you, Paghunda. Won’t that be fun! Beam me up, Scotty :)

Beata Agustin

January 2, 2024 at 2:43 AM

Thanks for sharing this. God bless you. Meanwhile, I greet you with a Joyous New Year with this prayer from the Bible in Numbers 6:24-26, "The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace."

Mark Toney

January 3, 2024 at 6:24 AM

Thank you, Beata, for your kindness. Here is a Scripture that motivates me from the Bible in Romans 8:38, 39, “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Christina Bowring

December 18, 2023 at 3:51 PM

Really enjoyed reading this poem Mark. I found it fascinating. I love the idea of having your name in space,’ on Martian soil’. That is a cool thing as LL has said. Thank you for sharing. Wishing you a great Christmas:):)

Mark Toney

December 18, 2023 at 7:13 PM

I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Christina. Thank you for the well wishes. Best wishes to you and yours.