Photo: NASA
On Tuesday, January 21, NASA officially opened the poll that would eventually lead to the 2020 Mars Rover getting its name, the one it will take to the Red Planet on behalf of humanity. There are 9 entries to choose from on this final list.
The list was narrowed down from a long one that initially comprised 28,000 submissions. After careful review, those were severely trimmed down and, in mid-January 2020, there were just 155 left. A further review process eliminated most, and we are now only left with 9.
The names that have entered the semifinal are Endurance, Tenacity, Promise, Perseverance, Vision, Clarity, Ingenuity, Fortitude, and Courage. They all have been submitted by American students grades K-12 as part of a competition that started in fall 2019.
"Thousands of students have shared their ideas for a name that will do our rover and the team proud," said in a statement 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."
If you plan to have a say on naming the rover, all you have to do is go to this link and press vote on your favorite (multiple votes are allowed). Mind you, the poll is open to people from all over the world, and at the time of this writing most votes come from the U.S. and Turkey.
The results of the poll will be taken into consideration when the final decision on the rover’s name is made in the early days of March 2020.
The Mars 2020 rover is the most important piece of equipment humans have ever sent to Mars. It will be the most autonomous of its class ever sent to another planet, and will use 7 state-of-the-art tools and instruments to look for alien life, assess the habitability of the environment, and even try to generate oxygen.
The launch of the rover is scheduled for summer this year, and it will arrive on Mars in early 2021.
The names that have entered the semifinal are Endurance, Tenacity, Promise, Perseverance, Vision, Clarity, Ingenuity, Fortitude, and Courage. They all have been submitted by American students grades K-12 as part of a competition that started in fall 2019.
"Thousands of students have shared their ideas for a name that will do our rover and the team proud," said in a statement 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."
If you plan to have a say on naming the rover, all you have to do is go to this link and press vote on your favorite (multiple votes are allowed). Mind you, the poll is open to people from all over the world, and at the time of this writing most votes come from the U.S. and Turkey.
The results of the poll will be taken into consideration when the final decision on the rover’s name is made in the early days of March 2020.
The Mars 2020 rover is the most important piece of equipment humans have ever sent to Mars. It will be the most autonomous of its class ever sent to another planet, and will use 7 state-of-the-art tools and instruments to look for alien life, assess the habitability of the environment, and even try to generate oxygen.
The launch of the rover is scheduled for summer this year, and it will arrive on Mars in early 2021.
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