{"id":19560,"date":"2019-08-29T09:30:42","date_gmt":"2019-08-29T13:30:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=19560"},"modified":"2019-08-29T11:05:40","modified_gmt":"2019-08-29T15:05:40","slug":"19560","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=19560","title":{"rendered":"NASA opens contest to name next Mars rover"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>NASA has opened <a href=\"https:\/\/mars.nasa.gov\/mars2020\/participate\/name-the-rover\/\"><strong>Name the Rover Contest<\/strong><\/a> for the <a href=\"https:\/\/mars.nasa.gov\/mars2020\/\">Mars 2020 mission<\/a>, which is set to launch in July of next year.\u00a0 Here is the announcement from NASA:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/press-release\/nasa-invites-students-to-name-next-mars-rover\">NASA Invites Students to Name Next Mars Rover<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>Red rover, red rover, send a name for Mars 2020 right over! NASA is recruiting help from students nationwide to find a name for its next Mars rover mission.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"1600\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/WHr3PeSafjU?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Starting Tuesday, K-12 students in U.S. public, private and home schools can enter the Mars 2020 Name the Rover essay contest. One grand prize winner will name the rover and be invited to see the spacecraft launch in July 2020 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.<\/p>\n<p>The Name the Rover contest is part of NASA&#8217;s efforts to engage students in the STEM enterprise behind Mars exploration and inspire interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>&#8220;This naming contest is a wonderful opportunity for our nation\u2019s youth to get involved with NASA\u2019s Moon to Mars missions,\u201d said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. &#8220;It is an exciting way to engage with a rover that will likely serve as the first leg of a Mars Sample return campaign, collecting and caching core samples from the Martian surface for scientists here on Earth to study for the first time.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The Mars 2020 rover is a 2,300-pound robotic scientist that will search for signs of past microbial life, characterize the planet&#8217;s climate and geology, collect samples for future return to Earth, and pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>\u201cOur Mars 2020 rover has fully taken shape over the past several months, as the project team installed various components onto the chassis: the computer brain and electronics; wheels and mobility system; robotic arm; remote sensing mast; the seven science instruments; and finally, the sample caching system,&#8221; said George Tahu, Mars 2020 program executive. &#8220;All that\u2019s missing is a great name!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>To enter the contest, students must submit by Nov. 1 their proposed rover name and a short essay, no more than 150 words, explaining why their proposed name should be chosen. The essays will be divided into three groups, by grade level \u2013 K-4, 5-8, and 9-12 \u2013 and judged on the appropriateness, significance and originality of their proposed name, and the originality and quality of their essay, and\/or finalist interview presentation.<\/p>\n<p>Fifty-two semifinalists will be selected per group, each representing their respective state or U.S. territory. Three finalists then will be selected from each group to advance to the final round.<\/p>\n<p>As part of the final selection process, the public will have an opportunity to vote online on the nine finalists in January 2020. NASA plans to announce the selected name on Feb. 18, 2020 \u2013 exactly one year before the rover will land on the surface of Mars.<\/p>\n<p>For complete contest and prize details, visit: <a href=\"https:\/\/mars.nasa.gov\/mars2020\/participate\/name-the-rover\/\"><strong>https:\/\/mars.nasa.gov\/mars2020\/participate\/name-the-rover\/<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The naming contest partnership is part of a Space Act Agreement between NASA, Battelle of Columbus, Ohio, and Future Engineers of Burbank, California, in educational and public outreach efforts.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mars.nasa.gov\/mars2020\/participate\/name-the-rover\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"19561\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?attachment_id=19561\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/name-the-rover-2x11.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1600,800\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Name the Rover Contest\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/name-the-rover-2x11-1024x512.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-19561 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/name-the-rover-2x11-500x250.jpg\" alt=\"Name the Rover Contest\" width=\"500\" height=\"250\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/name-the-rover-2x11-500x250.jpg 500w, https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/name-the-rover-2x11-768x384.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/name-the-rover-2x11-1024x512.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/name-the-rover-2x11.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Register to be a Judge<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>NASA is seeking volunteers to help judge the thousands of contest entries anticipated to pour in from around the country. U.S. residents over 18 years old who are interested in offering approximately five hours of their time to review submissions should register to be a judge at: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.futureengineers.org\/registration\/judge\/nametherover\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>https:\/\/www.futureengineers.org\/registration\/judge\/nametherover<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Rover Update<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>With all major elements onboard and initial functional checks complete, Mars 2020\u2019s Assembly, Test, and Launch Operations team is preparing the rover and its sky crane descent stage for the next big test: simulating the vibration dynamics of launch and the thermal environment the rover will experience on the surface of Mars.<\/p>\n<p>NASA&#8217;s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, manages rover development for the agency. The Launch Services Program at NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center in Florida is responsible for launch management.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"1600\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/QnuLxzocuhY?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p>For more about NASA&#8217;s Moon to Mars plans, visit: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/topics\/moon-to-mars\"><strong>https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/topics\/moon-to-mars<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">====<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/1633885348\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=1633885348&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=hobbyspace&amp;linkId=7ec96ebea81491302a758ed76d152d6a\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Case for Space:<br \/>\nHow the Revolution in Spaceflight Opens Up<br \/>\na Future of Limitless Possibility<\/a><\/strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;\" src=\"\/\/ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/ir?t=hobbyspace&amp;l=am2&amp;o=1&amp;a=1633885348\" alt=\"\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe style=\"width: 120px; height: 240px;\" src=\"\/\/ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&amp;OneJS=1&amp;Operation=GetAdHtml&amp;MarketPlace=US&amp;source=ac&amp;ref=tf_til&amp;ad_type=product_link&amp;tracking_id=hobbyspace&amp;marketplace=amazon&amp;region=US&amp;placement=1633885348&amp;asins=1633885348&amp;linkId=dc008bd5d89e31bff68df4b9cbebab8a&amp;show_border=true&amp;link_opens_in_new_window=true&amp;price_color=333333&amp;title_color=0066c0&amp;bg_color=ffffff\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NASA has opened Name the Rover Contest for the Mars 2020 mission, which is set to launch in July of next year.\u00a0 Here is the announcement from NASA: NASA Invites Students to Name Next Mars Rover Red rover, red rover, send a name for Mars 2020 right over! NASA is recruiting help from students nationwide &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=19560\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">NASA opens contest to name next Mars rover<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,22,78],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19560","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-contests-and-games","category-education","category-mars"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/s34aWK-19560","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":16004,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=16004","url_meta":{"origin":19560,"position":0},"title":"NASA adds a helicopter to the 2020 Mars Rover mission","author":"TopSpacer","date":"May 11, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"NASA will include a helicopter on the\u00a0\u00a0Mars 2020\u00a0rover mission: Mars Helicopter to Fly on NASA\u2019s Next Red Planet Rover Mission\u00a0 https:\/\/youtu.be\/oOMQOqKRWjU NASA is sending a helicopter to Mars. The\u00a0Mars Helicopter, a small, autonomous rotorcraft, will travel with the agency\u2019s\u00a0Mars 2020\u00a0rover mission, currently scheduled to launch in July 2020, to demonstrate\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Mars&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Mars","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=78"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/marshelo1-1024x560.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8461,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=8461","url_meta":{"origin":19560,"position":1},"title":"Mars 2020 Rover to include oxygen producer","author":"TopSpacer","date":"August 3, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"This past week NASA announced the selection of instruments that will go on the Mars 2020 rover vehicle. One of the most interesting of these systems\u00a0is the \u00a0Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment (MOXIE)\u00a0, which will\u00a0demonstrate the conversion of\u00a0carbon dioxide in the atmosphere into oxygen. Such conversion\u00a0is a key enabler of Mars\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Living in Space&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Living in Space","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=17"},"img":{"alt_text":"An artist concept image of where seven carefully-selected instruments will be located on NASA\u2019s Mars 2020 rover. The instruments will conduct unprecedented science and exploration technology investigations on the Red Planet as never before.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nasa.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/673xvariable_height\/public\/mars_2020_rover.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3466,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=3466","url_meta":{"origin":19560,"position":2},"title":"Mars: Signs of an ancient sea + The 2020 rover begins to take shape","author":"TopSpacer","date":"July 17, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"A group at Caltech has been studying images from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter of a 100-square-kilometer area with\u00a0ridge-like features that lies next to a region called\u00a0Aeolis Dorsa that has been speculated to be a dried-up ocean bottom. They see evidence that the features of the ridges match well\u00a0 that seen\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Mars&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Mars","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=78"},"img":{"alt_text":"ML-MarsOcean-Delta-NEWS-WEB","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/ML-MarsOcean-Delta-NEWS-WEB.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8487,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=8487","url_meta":{"origin":19560,"position":3},"title":"Curiosity rover &#8211; Two years on Mars","author":"TopSpacer","date":"August 6, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Here's a brief video\u00a0from NASA JPL about the status of the Curiosity Rover two years after it landing on Mars:\u00a0\u00a0Curiosity Rover Report (Aug. 5, 2014): A Softer Trek to Mount Sharp On the second anniversary of landing, NASA's Curiosity rover on Mars is preparing to navigate through a series of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Mars&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Mars","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=78"},"img":{"alt_text":"Curiosity Tracks in 'Hidden Valley' on Mars","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.jpl.nasa.gov\/images\/msl\/20140805\/pia18590-640.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":14409,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=14409","url_meta":{"origin":19560,"position":4},"title":"NASA sounding rocket to light up Eastern Shore + College students launch Mars rovers","author":"TopSpacer","date":"May 24, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Early on the morning of May 31st, people living along the Mid-Atlantic region of the US coast may\u00a0see a big light show in the sky: \u00a0NASA Sounding Rocket will Release Early Morning Artificial Clouds Light | NASA The early morning skies along the mid-Atlantic coast will light up with luminescent\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Education&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Education","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=22"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/wff-2017-e01024_01.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":19616,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=19616","url_meta":{"origin":19560,"position":5},"title":"Space sciences roundup &#8211; Sept.6.2019","author":"TopSpacer","date":"September 6, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"A sampling of recent articles, videos, and images from space-related science news items (find previous roundups here): [ Update 2: Unfortunately, contact with the Vikram lander was lost shortly before the landing: Ground teams lost communication with India\u2019s first lunar landing mission moments before its scheduled touchdown on the moon\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Asteroids &amp; Comets&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Asteroids &amp; Comets","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=75"},"img":{"alt_text":"Vikram Lander","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/VikramLander-2019-500x251.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19560","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19560"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19560\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19564,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19560\/revisions\/19564"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}