Nine Finalists Chosen in NASA's Mars 2020 Rover Naming Contest
January 23, 2020 | NASAEstimated reading time: 2 minutes
Members of the public have an opportunity to vote for their favorite name for NASA's next Mars rover. The nine candidate names were made possible by the "Name the Rover" essay contest, which invited students in kindergarten through 12th grade from across the United States to come up with a fitting name for NASA's Mars 2020 rover and write a short essay about it.
More than 28,000 essays were submitted after the contest began on Aug. 28 last year. A diverse panel of nearly 4,700 judge volunteers, composed of educators, professionals and space enthusiasts from all around the country, narrowed the pool down to 155 deserving semifinalists from every state and territory in the country.
"Thousands of students have shared their ideas for a name that will do our rover and the team proud," said Lori Glaze, director of NASA's Planetary Science Division in Washington. "Thousands more volunteered time to be part of the judging process. Now it is the public's opportunity to become involved and express their excitement for their favorites of the final nine."
The nine finalists (submission name, grade level, student name and state) are:
- Endurance, K-4, Oliver Jacobs of Virgina
- Tenacity, K-4, Eamon Reilly of Pennsylvania
- Promise, K-4, Amira Shanshiry of Massachusetts
- Perseverance, 5-8, Alexander Mather of Virginia
- Vision, 5-8, Hadley Green of Mississippi
- Clarity, 5-8, Nora Benitez of California
- Ingenuity, 9-12, Vaneeza Rupani of Alabama
- Fortitude, 9-12, Anthony Yoon of Oklahoma
- Courage, 9-12, Tori Gray of Louisiana
The poll opens online today and will remain open through Jan. 27 until 9 p.m. PST (midnight EST). The results of the poll will be a consideration in the final naming selection. For the poll, visit:
After the poll closes, the nine student finalists will discuss their rover names with a panel including Glaze, NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins, NASA-JPL rover driver Nick Wiltsie and Clara Ma, who earned the honor of naming the Mars rover Curiosity as a sixth-grade student in 2009.
The contest will conclude in early March, when the rover's new name - and the student behind it - are announced. The grand prize winner will also receive an invitation to see the spacecraft launch in July 2020 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
The currently unnamed rover is a robotic scientist weighing more than 2,300 pounds (1,000 kilograms). It will search for signs of past microbial life, characterize the planet's climate and geology, collect samples for future return to Earth and pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet. Scheduled to launch in July or August 2020, the rover will land in Jezero Crater on Feb. 18, 2021.
The naming contest partnership is part of a Space Act Agreement in educational and public outreach efforts between NASA, Battelle of Columbus, Ohio, and Future Engineers of Burbank, California.
For complete contest and prize details, including a full listing of the 155 state/territory semifinalists, visit:
Suggested Items
IDTechEx Examines the Opportunities for Wearables in Digital Health
04/19/2024 | IDTechExIDTechEx’s report, “Digital Health and Artificial Intelligence 2024-2034: Trends, Opportunities, and Outlook”, covers this ongoing trend in the consumer health wearables market and includes analysis of the opportunities and roadmap for biometric monitoring.
RTX Signs Largest Renewable Electricity Deal with ENGIE
04/19/2024 | RTXRTX announced an agreement with a subsidiary of ENGIE North America (ENGIE) that will provide 100% renewable electricity to 12 of the company’s Texas facilities.
Cicor Shareholders Approve All Proposals
04/19/2024 | Cicor Technologies Ltd.At the Annual General Meeting of Cicor Technologies Ltd. in Zurich, the shareholders approved all proposals.
VDMA: Machine Vision Navigating Through Uncertain Times
04/18/2024 | VDMAFor over a decade, the European machine vision industry has reported steady growth, with turnover increasing by an average of 9 percent annually between 2012 and 2022. Despite a temporary setback in 2020 (minus 4 percent) due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the industry rebounded strongly in 2021 (plus 17 percent) and 2022 (plus 11 percent).
Aspocomp’s Q1 Net Sales and Operating Result Decreased YoY
04/18/2024 | AspocompInflation and interest rates, weak economic development, the uncertainties posed by Russia’s war of aggression and the situation in the Middle East, and global trade policy tensions will affect the operating environment of Aspocomp and its customers in the 2024 fiscal year.