[meteorite-list] NASA Invites Students to Name New Mars Rover (MSL)

[Ron Baalke]

Nov. 18, 2008

Dwayne Brown 
Headquarters, Washington 
202-358-1726 
dwayne.c.brown at nasa.gov 

Guy Webster 
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. 
818-354-6278 
guy.webster at jpl.nasa.gov 

RELEASE: 08-234

NASA INVITES STUDENTS TO NAME NEW MARS ROVER

WASHINGTON -- NASA is looking for the right stuff, or in this case, 
the right name for the next Mars rover. NASA, in cooperation with 
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures' movie WALL-E from Pixar 
Animation Studios, will conduct a naming contest for its car-sized 
Mars Science Laboratory rover that is scheduled for launch in 2009. 

The contest begins Tuesday, Nov. 18, and is open to students 5 to 18 
years old who attend a U.S. school and are enrolled in the current 
academic year. To enter the contest, students will submit essays 
explaining why their suggested name for the rover should be chosen. 
Essays must be received by Jan. 25, 2009. In March 2009, the public 
will have an opportunity to rank nine finalist names via the Internet 
as additional input for judges to consider during the selection 
process. NASA will announce the winning rover name in April 2009. 

Disney will provide prizes to students submitting winning essays, 
including a trip to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, 
Calif., where the rover is under construction. The grand prize winner 
will have an opportunity to place a signature on the spacecraft and 
take part in the history of space exploration. 

"Mars exploration has always captured the public imagination," said 
Mark Dahl, program executive for the Mars Science Laboratory at NASA 
Headquarters in Washington. "This contest will expand our ability to 
inspire students' interest in science and give the public a chance to 
participate in NASA's next expedition to Mars." 

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures in Burbank, Calif., will make it 
possible for WALL-E, the name of its animated robotic hero and summer 
2008 movie, to appear in online content inviting students to 
participate in the naming contest. The online WALL-E content will 
provide young viewers with a current connection to the human-robotic 
partnership that is transforming discovery and exploration. The 
contest coincides with Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment's 
release of WALL-E on DVD and Blu-ray. The naming contest partnership 
is part of a Space Act Agreement between NASA and Disney designed to 
use the appeal of WALL-E in educational and public outreach efforts. 

"All of us at Disney are delighted to be working with NASA in its 
educational and public outreach efforts to teach schoolchildren about 
space exploration, robot technology and the universe in which they 
live," said Mark Zoradi, president of Walt Disney Studios Motion 
Pictures Group. "WALL-E is one of the most lovable and entertaining 
characters that Pixar has ever created, and he is the perfect 
spokes-robot for this program." 

The Mars Science Laboratory rover will be larger and more capable than 
any craft previously sent to land there. It will check whether the 
environment in a carefully selected landing region ever has been 
favorable for supporting microbial life. The rover will search for 
minerals that formed in the presence of water and look for several 
chemical building blocks of life. 

"We are now in a phase when we're building and testing the rover 
before its journey to Mars," said John Klein, deputy project manager 
for the Mars Science Laboratory at JPL. "As the rover comes together 
and begins to take shape, the whole team can't wait to call it by 
name." 

Additional assignments include imaging its surroundings in high 
definition, analyzing rocks with a high-powered laser beam, 
inspecting rocks and soil with a six-foot robotic arm, and cooking 
and sniffing rock powder delivered from a hammering drill to 
investigate what minerals are in Martian rocks. 

Information about the contest is available at: 

http://marsrovername.jpl.nasa.gov 

	
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