In the summer , NASA will launch another bird of passage towards Mars . It is presently known as theMars 2020 Rover , but it will soon take another name – and it will be picked among 28,000 entries give in by students across the U.S.
The inclination of educatee has now been reduced to “ just ” 155 semifinalist , although not 155 name as some have suggested . The introduction are accompanied by description about why the scholarly person from kindergarten to 12th grade picked that picky name . The full listing of name can be seen on theFuture Engineers website .
Among our favorites , there’sPyassa – the Urdu word of honor for thirst , paragon for a rover that will look for subsurface water . Another good name isMerian , after Maria Sibylla Merian , the German - born naturalist of the 17th hundred . There is alsoNunnehi , which means " traveler " in the Cherokee language . The simple but effectiveDustyis also a contender , and we can be certain the wanderer will indeed be dusty .
" This rover is the first leg of a round - trip deputation to Mars that will make headway understanding in key science fields like astrobiology , " Lori Glaze , director of NASA ’s Planetary Science Division , said in astatement . " This contest is a cool way to employ the next contemporaries and encourage calling in all STEM fields . The chosen name will help define this rover ’s unique personality among our fleet of Martian spacecraft . "
The next phase of judging will boil down the names to just nine finalist . These nine name will be presented by the students themselves to a panel of experts , which include astronauts , rover engineers , and Clara Ma , who won the contest to name NASA ’s Curiosity Rover in 2009 . The contest will also have input from the public . From late January , the nine name will be online and people can vote for their pet . The judging control board will take this vote into write up before the winner is announced in former March 2020 .
Mars Rover 2020 will pull together rock nub and soil sample from sites on Mars that are likely to have been habitable , as well as test technical school for succeeding human exploration of the Red Planet . It is gestate to launch in July and land on Mars in early 2021 .
