[blparent] NASA Invites Students to Name New Mars Rover

[Marsha]

	News Release: 2008-215 November 18, 2008

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.

JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages

the Mars
Science Laboratory Project for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, 
Washington.

Information about the contest is available at 
http://marsrovername.jpl.nasa.gov .
More information on Mars Science Laboratory is  at
http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/ .

                                               -end-



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