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Space TopicsName the Rovers
In 2003 The Planetary Society joined with the LEGO company to run a naming contest for the Mars Exploration Rovers, until then known only as MER-A and MER-B. The Planetary Society convened a judging panel that whittled the approximately 10,000 entries down to 33, from which NASA chose the winning student and her entry: Sofi Collis, a 9-year-old, 3rd-grade student from Arizona. In her essay, she submitted "Spirit" and "Opportunity" as her suggested names for the two rovers. The Name the Rovers contest was open for K-12 American students. Essays justifying the name selections ranged in length from 50 words to 500 words depending on the grade level. The judges were: Andre Bormanis, Star Trek writer and science consultant David Brin, science fiction author Glenn Cunningham, former Mars Global Surveyor and Mars Observer Project Manager M. Darby Dyar, Associate Professor of Astronomy, Mount Holyoke College Matt Golombek, JPL, Co-chair of the landing site selection for Mars Exploration Rover, Project Scientist for Mars Pathfinder Joe Oliver, Los Angeles Unified School District Barbara Scott, Los Angeles Unified School District science teacher Donna Shirley, Asst. Dean of Engineering, U. of Oklahoma, former JPL Steve Williams, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution Read the winning essays » Recent Headlines
31 Jan 12 Mars Exploration Rover Update: Opportunity Celebrates 8 and Keeps on Rockin' into Year 9
31 Dec 11 Mars Exploration Rover Update: Opportunity Climbs to Greeley Haven and We Look Back at 2011
30 Nov 11 Mars Exploration Rover Update: Opportunity Crunches Homestake and Scouts Locales for Winter
31 Oct 11 Mars Exploration Rover Update: Opportunity Heads for New Discovery as Winter Blows In at Cape York
30 Sep 11 Mars Exploration Rover Update: Opportunity Digs In at Endeavour, Team Remembers 9/11
01 Sep 11 Mars Exploration Rover Update: Opportunity Finds Martian Mystery at Endeavour Crater
31 Aug 11 Mars Exploration Rovers Update: Opportunity Arrives at Endeavour Crater, Mission Begins Anew
30 Jun 11 Mars Exploration Rovers Update: Opportunity Roves Back into Record Books, Spirit is Honored |
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