This Week Only: Vote on Mars Rover Name

March 23, 2009—More than 9,000 students submitted essays proposing names for NASA’s next Mars rover. Now that the list is down to nine, you can help decide what the final name should be. NASA posted the finalist names for the agency’s Mars Science Laboratory mission online today, and is inviting the public to vote for its favorite. But you better hurry—votes will be accepted only through March 29. The nine finalist names, in no specific order, include: Journey, submitted by an eighth grader in Tell City, Indiana Sunrise, submitted by a seventh grader in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Adventure, submitted by a third grader in Hudsonville, Michigan Vision, submitted by a 10th grader in Severna Park, Maryland Curiosity, submitted by a sixth grader in Lenexa, Kansas Amelia, submitted by a second grader in Ava, New York Perception, submitted by a sixth grader in Urbana, Illinois Wonder, submitted by a third grader in Lemoore, California Pursuit, submitted by an 11th grader in Houston, Texas Click here to vote and rank the names in order. K-12 students from all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the families of American service personnel overseas submitted entries. NASA will select the winning name, based on a student’s essay and the public poll, and announce the name in late April or early May. “No matter what name is finally chosen, this is a mission for everyone, and we can’t wait to start calling this rover by name,” said Michelle Viotti, manager of the Mars Public Engagement program at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The student who submitted the winning name will be invited to JPL to sign the rover. Additionally, all 30 semi-finalists will have an opportunity to place an individually tailored message on the chip. The public also has a chance to participate in “Send Your Name to Mars.” The agency will collect names to be recorded on a microchip that will be carried on the car-sized robotic explorer. Click here to submit a name. Scheduled to launch in 2011 and land on Mars in 2012, the rover will use a set of advanced science instruments to check whether the environment in a selected landing region ever has been favorable for supporting microbial life and preserving evidence of such life.

An engineering model of the 2011 Mars Science Laboratory makes its way down a hill at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s “Mars Yard.” Photo credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech When you “Send Your Name to Mars,” your name will be recorded on a microchip and carried on the robotic explorer. But you also can print out a certificate and be part of history. Photo credit: NASA Space station contest runs into problem The Mars rover name contest isn’t the only contest NASA is using to get people interested in its programs. But a contest to help pick a permanent name for a room on the International Space Station, temporarily called Node 3, ran into an interesting problem. Late-night cable-TV host Steven Colbert convinced his viewers the node should be named “Colbert.” While voting is now closed, 1.2 million users voted or submitted a name. About 70 percent voted for Serenity, one of NASA’s suggestions. But Colbert was No. 1 of the voters’ Top 10 suggestions. According to the NASA website, the winning name will be announced in April.

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