I think MSL should be given a better name! Like what it was done with the MER rovers(Spirit-Opportunity). We could propose some! I propose the names "Eureka!" and "Innovation". What about you? We could then(after some months maybe) vote for the best of them!
How about 'Leviathan' due to MSL's monsterous stature and menacing profile?
I propose name "INVINCIBLE". Name is based upon SF novel "The Invincible" by Stanislaw Lem (1967). One of the best SF novels you've probably never heard of.
Great book. Not sure the name is very auspicious, taken from that source though.
MUV ... the Martian version of the Earth's SUVs, but environmentally friendly with no CO2 emissions (just dont mention the nuclear reactor on board)
'MSL' will do probably.
But with a laser beam and nuclear power...the only name you're going to call it is 'sir'
Doug
Okay...Mister MSL. I'd like to see an entire high school football team even try to call him a nerd...it'd get ugly, quickly!
On a slightly less serious note, how about the Sagan Memorial "Martian Overall Natural Science Traversable Exploration Rover"?
I still like "Ms. L". We just have to figure out what the "L" stands for. Lulu?
Uh...."Large?"
I dunno. Anthropomorphizing is utterly subjective, but to me MSL looks like it's got a definite masculine vibe going on. I wouldn't pick a fight with it!
I can hear the commercials now....
"SUNDAY! SUNDAY! SUNDAY! Come see the Monster Martian Rover, laying WASTE to Mawrth Valley! SUNDAY! Watch while it blasts rocks to bits with its bitchin' LASER BEAM! SUNDAY!"
-the other Doug
Yep. As I said a few months ago, I've already cut the sleeves off of my spacesuit, and the dual-beer helmet-mounted delivery system has passed CDR...
In all seriousness (well, at least partial seriousness), I'd love to see the MSL team have the guts that the MER team lacked, and go ahead with the most obvious and appropriate name possible for MSL:
Marvin.
Of course, when MSL radios back a request for a PU238 explosive modulator, I'm not quite sure what we're going to do... except to duck, cover and wait for the Earth-shattering kaboom...
-the other Doug
I second Doug's call for the MSL team to have the conviction to celebrate an inspirational Martian. I'm assuming he was referring http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=11681 to call MER-A, Marvin and MER-B, Daffy.
MARVIN the MARs maVIN.
I don't think geeky names like "Marvin" have a good chance. Just remember missions that have flown so far. Many missions are names after historic ships. I think MSL could be "Mayflower".
If you try to pronounce MSL, you get "Muscle", which seems to me an appropriate name for the beast.
And what about name like "Hope"?
I predict a MSL naming contest is coming soon
I dunno -- I'm overwhelmed with an image of our intrepid rover cresting a hill with a golf club clutched in a manipulator claw, saying, "Hi, Mars 'Science Lab' Hope here. I thought I was here to do a USO show -- where are you hiding Jerry Cologna?"
-the other Doug
"Oh, we're off on the road to Pavonis! A chasm like none that we've seen..."
I'm thinking 'Canyonero'
Phil
My ideal name would be "Lewis and Clark" but I'm sure many people would get confused, thinking there were two rovers and wondering if MSL was "Lewis" or "Clark".
My other choices would be "Prospector", "Seeker" and my current fave, "Pilgrim".
Sounding like a broken record, I know, but still gotta go with "Sagan". The tribute aspect is obvious, but would also like to turn modern kids on to his body of work. Most of his books still hold up, and most importantly still inspire imagination.
Technically, I think Carl has been honored in that way already with the renaming of the Pathfinder Lander to the Sagan Memorial Station.
Yeah, I thought of that, but unfortunately Pathfinder has been right off the radar screen of the general public for more than a decade now. Kind of wish they'd waited for one of the MERs or MSL, but of course 1) Carl had just recently passed, and 2) who even knew then that the MERs or MSL would ever fly?
Well, failing that, how about Lowell or Schiaparelli? It seems to quite possibly be heading for a "canal", of sorts...
Burroughs? Wells?
Richard Cook mentioned a naming contest in his Von Karman lecture (see the JPL website). It'll happen, just not yet.
MSL naming contest announced:
http://marsrovername.jpl.nasa.gov/
For my money, it needs to be something like Intimidator, Nuclear Invader from Earth, or something like that.
Or, "Please God, just this once, let me get a sample into my lab for analysis"
The contest is only open to US students in grades K-12, so all of you adults and/or foreign nationals can keep your ideas to yourselves.
The contest is being run by Disney, so a dignified and appropriate name is practically guaranteed.
Unfortunately my reading of the rules is that none of my immediate family members are eligible.
Nuclear power and a laser beam?
"Sir"
or
"Whatever it wants to be called"
Doug
I, for one, welcome our new laser-wielding overlord.
Judging its camera = Gort ( robot from The day the Earth stood still )
Chuck Norris
Now now children
Some Suggestions:
Powell
AresLab
Barsoom
Mars Mobilab
Schiparelli
Labrover 1
Elvis. Just to hear the NASA Public Affairs person say at launch, "Elvis has left the building."
Hmmmm...given the power of the MSL
What about "Predator"?
It's my ONLY hope at immortality: Nuclear-Powered Roving Exploration Vehicle...
Just to throw in a long-shot, how about "Heinlein"? Red Planet surely inspired a lot of kids & teens in the 50s ("Willis" has a nice ring too, but it'd never fly...would have been more appropriate for the bouncy MERs or PF.)
What about the female explorer.... Alexandrine Tinne (1835-1869)
""But none rises higher in my estimation than the Dutch lady, Miss Tinne, who after the severest domestic afflictions, nobly persevered in the teeth of every difficulty." - Dr. Livingstone, explorer and missionary."
Since it's powered by a RTG, why not use the name Curie
Marie Curie is already the name of a Rover. Sadly, it's the Sojourner spare that was taken off the '01 lander design for PHX.
Doug
I've been saying those wheels are the size of small beer kegs. Maybe they should name it after http://www.pub-sing.com/lyrics_beer.php.
(...and as far as I can tell he's not a living person Mike)
Along the beer keg line, we could use the following ditty as a mission theme:
"Ninety-nine samples of rock on the ground,
Ninety-nine samples of rock!
Shoot one down,
Sniff all around,
Ninety-eight samples of rock on the ground..."
-the other Doug
BIS Spaceflight magazine has time sequence photos of the MSL wheels drop test and names the vehicle "Scarecrow"
Scarecrow is the name of that mobility test vehicle - as it has no brain (like the scarecrow in wizard of oz)
Yeah, those were proposed by a huge percentage of the entrants in to the MER name the rover contest, and disqualified for that reason. Two names from the same exploration mission -- http://www.pbs.org/lewisandclark/inside/saca.html and http://www.pbs.org/lewisandclark/inside/york.html -- survived into the final round. I kind of like "Sacagawea". One can sort of see the RTG as her http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papoose...though I can say from experience that a papoose is more likely to steal energy than it is to provide it!
--Emily
Tsk, Emily - didn't you tell us not to refer to that portion of her anatomy?
Phil
*sigh* it's really kind of hard to ignore!
I think we have to try and reaquire some 9 year old imagination to get a good name 4 the rover. I do hope they chose a simple name, greek names are wearing me out! How about Strider (from lord of the rings); majestic, kingly, untiring, it fits!
Actually 9-year-olds can be quite serious. It's the 13- to 15-year-olds who come up with the silly stuff. Including my hands-down favorite pair of proposed names for the Mars Exploration Rovers: "Taco" and "Chalupa." Even better than the names themselves was the proposer's essay:
...yep, the brain chemistry definitely does change during adolescence, doesn't it?
It doesn't change - it just goes AWOL for 5 years
It also tends to vaporize in middle age for males, but the usual effect is buying a sports car, not generating goofy names for Mars rovers...oh, wait...
I bet someone else already thought of this one "Rover 3.0" It will get the geek vote.
I really like Ramble-On Rover. It indicates rover continuity like Rover 3.0, and hints at greater distances provided by the power pak. It's a Rover that's always ON.
Not that I intend to submit either of them.
Jack
Wall-E grew up and became Wall-TER. (Wheeled all-Terrain Exploratory Rover)
I rather like insect names, considering the RTG appearance. Dragonfly or (better) Firefly would be good, except for its being flightless. Perhaps a write-in campaign from the Josh Whedon fans would make a difference
Call me boring, but.... "Explorer" sounds fine to me.
If Mike Griffin *really* wants to keep in with the oncoming president, he should name it "Obama", or "Barack, the Rock Crusher".
Not so sure about "Hussein" though..
(ducks)
Well, seeing as the ************ thing is everywhere and there's no escape from it, I guess there's only one name to go with...
I've always been fond of Vespucci as an explorer.
Ok, so far on this thread we have:-
Eureka!, Innovation, Leviathan, Invincible, MUV, Sir, Monster, Lulu, Marvin, Machismo, Mayflower, Muscle, Missile, Hope, Canyonero, Lewis&Clark, Prospector, Seeker, Pilgrim, Sagan, Lowell, Schiaparelli, Burroughs, Wells, Intimidator, Goofy, Bradbury, Gort, ChuckNorris, Powell, AresLab, Barsoom, Mobilab, Schiparelli, Labrover1, Elvis, Predator, Feynman, Nprev, Tinne, Curie, Goliath, Mops, Aelita, Scarecrow, Sacagawea, York, Strider, Taco, Chalupa, Rover3.0, Wall-TER, Dragonfly, Firefly, Devil's coach horse, Buffy, Explorer, MSL, Obama, Barack, MammaMia, Vespucci.
I will chuck in Endeavor, Dauntless, Enterprise, Mettle, Resolve, Venture, Holst, and for fun, Trogdor.
Perhaps we should run a sweepstake?
Seconded.
Just call it Tim.
I keep telling you guys: Nuclear-Powered Roving Exploration Vehicle is the only choice!
I'm just waiting for someone to target a rover mission to one of the Martian caves that's been discovered in orbital imagery. Then it can be the Off-Track Heat Engine Rover Doing Observations Under Ground...
-the other Doug
Calimero. Because Mars is big and MSL is small and that's not fair...
Is it not called Bruce, then?
.
.
.
.
That's going to be a bit confusing.
I keep thinking that they'll honor a planetary scientist. Kuiper springs to mind, and of course I'd still love to see it named Sagan (though the post-landing designation of Pathfinder as the Sagan Memorial Station probably torpedoes that.)
In keeping with dvandorn's rather clever suggestion above, I propose:
Planetary Hexapod Instrumented Laboratory
And don't tell me that's too long for a good acronym!
Phil
CHARiot BOldly ROving Barsoom seem appropriate to me.
Sci44, did you left http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.php?s=&showtopic=3667&view=findpost&p=78985 out on purpose?...
And there's a lot more on http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.php?showtopic=3667...
EDITED: Sorry if I'm missing someone's suggestion:
Sagan, Antoniadi, Lowell, Burroughs, Heinlein, Willis, Tweel, Weinbaum, Tars Tarkas, Deja Thoris, Ras Thavas, Schiaparelli, Bottomos, Bagnold, ALICCE, BARSOOM, MiSheLle, Hope, Feynman, Challenger, Beagle, Serenity, BunwhacketbuzzardstoppingQWalrusTitty (nice one Doug!), Marsasaurus, Crushinator, Zoidberg, Bigfoot, Ark III, Inspector, Big Bertha, TONKA, Armadillo, Juggernaut, Killdozer, Bolo, Dalek, OGRE, Transfo, Lovebug, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
Rui, the only conspicuous omission I see is "Sir"! (Doug's idea...)
Voting is now open, and here are your choices...
Sunrise
Pursuit
Wonder
Amelia
Vision
Adventure
Curiosity
Perception
Journey.
...?
Vote http://marsrovername.jpl.nasa.gov/SubmitVoteForm/index.cfm?CFID=414387&CFTOKEN=81559280
Curiosity sounds like a good name...since it has 5 syllables like Opportunity. If you're superstitious like I am...
Sorry...but there isn't one suggestion that I find suitable for MSL...
But voted anyway...Pursuit.
I agree they are all rubbishy names. Who on Earth selected these ?
Schoolkids submitted them, just as they did, I believe, with Spirit and Oppy.
Struggling to find one that I like, or catches my eye, but I'm leaning towards "Pursuit". Just 'cos it sounds a bit tougher.
So go find those kids who named MER and hire them!
Do you believe this was the best the kids came up with?...
Or the guys making the selection were on a uninspired mood?...
Sunrise?!?
I dunno, these names sound more like new age music albums than fitting monikers for the heavy metal we are sending to another planet....
Anyway - torn between Amelia, which I assume is in memory of Ms. Earhart, and Perception.
Perception - I think it would be cool to have a name that reminds us of the need to look around and be aware. It also seems a happy harbinger of the many discoveries MSL will make...
Pursuit sounds cool, but makes me think of police car chase videos
I have to say none of those names strike me as fitting, either. To be honest, though, I'd probably have said the same about Spirit and Opportunity had I given it much thought before the names were a done deal.
Sunrise rover has a certain ring to it, maybe it's just me. Still sounds a bit lame.
Oh dear. I can't believe that all the suggestions they got were that bad. Show us the rejects!
I have to be honest here, and no offense meant to the kids who submitted the shortlisted names - I bet they're all incredibly thrilled, and well done to them for taking the time and trouble to join in, but “Sunrise” is just a bit too hippy-huggy fake smile for me, and sounds like an orange juice or health drink; “Perception” sounds like something a cold, emotionless Vulcan would call a Mars rover, and “Curiosity” is a bit too timid-sounding, and is just screaming out to be tagged onto the word “killed” in newspaper headlines as soon as anything goes wrong…
At the moment, I’m leaning towards, and torn between, “Amelia” and “Pursuit”. I like Amelia not because I have a friend called Amelia, and it would be fun to read about her trekking across Mars every day, but because 1) I’m also wondering if the name was submitted as a tribute to the famous aviator Amelia Earhart, which would be a very spooky coincidence because 2) I bought, from a charity shop the other day, a video of the STAR TREK: VOYAGER series which includes the episode “The 37’s” which features… Amelia Earhart! (cue X-Files music)
No, I’m not joking; I really did buy a STAR TREK: VOYAGER video. I have a soft spot for that series, which I know puts me in a tiny minority of ST fans but…
Anyway, back to the naming contest. As I said, I’m torn between “Amelia” and “Pursuit”. “Pursuit” is edging it right now because it just sounds, well, sexier somehow, more fitting for a rugged, exciting space mission.
Out of that lot (and it's a remarkably bland list) "Amelia" is the only one that doesn't make me cringe too much. But MSL does not look like an Amelia. As my teachers would have written:
1/10. Very poor. Must try harder.
Andy
I'm very conscious of the fact, however, that I wanted to throw a shoe through my computer monitor when I read what the MERs had been christened - they just seemed like the worst names in the world! - but somehow they've since "grown into" their names, and I now can't imagine them being called anything else...
That's what I'm trying to tell myself as well Stu.
I'm sure whatever is chosen will seem right in few years. But right now I'm struggling to decide which is the least worst.
As more as I look at them the worst the choices look to me...
Besides what Stu wrote about curiosity...Wonder?!? Without wanting to hurt anyone's sensibility...Stevie...anyone?...
In all humility, I was secretly hoping for my suggestion back in our own thread - TONS of better names there.
http://"http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.php?s=&showtopic=3667&view=findpost&p=78626
All spacecraft with camera's give us a vision......so it's lame - imho.
Well, one characteristic distinction between MER and MSL could be that we would see more activities during sunrise hours, when the batteries are full.
Have to said that all the names selected are rather lame. "Journey" may be the only one that "could" fit IMHO.
.. as far as nicknames go, Perception leads us to ... "Percy" ... maybe, maybe not ...
Hopefully someone from NASA will read our 10 or so comments and select a good name......LOL
Sorry, when I read the word "Sunrise" I'm reminded of this...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTH2Nsftn00
Agreed, these are all some amazingly lame names. I run them through the mental audio test of news reports referring to "The ___ rover", and they all fail miserably. I went with Amelia and Sunrise as the best of those offered, though neither really fits. Kids -- grr -- I'll be interested in their opinions when they're over 30. Is Nasa going to start delegating engineering decisions to kids as well?
I personally think it's great that kids are involved in this naming process, it really helps them feel involved and gives them an added interest in the mission. I can imagine the kids who took part in this competition sat at their kitchen tables, staring at a piece of blank paper, tapping a pencil on their teeth and Thinking Very Hard about what name to suggest, what name would be fitting and "spacey". That has to be a good thing, right? It's just a shame that this particular list of names is - in my, and it looks like our - opinion rather uninspiring.
But I guess that from a small kid's point of view those names ARE quite spacey... try putting an exclamation mark after some of them and you ARE a kid again: Journey! Adventure! Vision! That workd better, eh?
But all of us here are thinking how naff it will be when we see the name on Exploratorium, or MMB, or here on UMSF. Different perspective.
After a day of thinking about it, "Amelia" is definitely growing on me...
I hate to say it, but I wholeheartedly agree. These are all really lame choices. It's great outreach, and I know there was an essay contest to go along with this so it's all educationally great. But still.
At least the important thing is that all these kids are interested in the mission. That's far more valuable that any superficial name.
I guess I'll keep calling it MSL.
Wow, I'm glad it's not just me that thinks they're all dreadful.
An unfortunate demise is not the first thing that springs to mind when thinking of Galileo, or indeed Endurance, but is certainly is what Amelia Earhart's associated with. Come on, let's face it, the jokes will just write themselves the moment there's the slightest glitch, issue, or hint of a problem. The only appeal of Amelia is that it has a little personality. The rest are just... beige, and a soft pastel beige, at that.
I'm with the earlier suggestion: Emmessell is better than any of those.
If Wonder's choosen, it'll become Wally, and that'll not be too bad...
Female aviators do not, of course, start and end at Earhart. Bessie Coleman arguably did more for the aviation industry - and then-current racial perceptions.
Andy
Pursuit, Journey, Spirit … Seems a bit pallid and pointless to go on naming Martian UM spacecraft along these grandiose lines.
How about short, “endearing” names that people will easily remember and get used to using over the (hopefully!) long lives of these missions: We have our “Oppy”; now how about Wally (recalls the cartoon robot as well as a Mercury astronaut), Sally (another astronaut), Gene (as in Shoemaker), or even, yes, Amelia.
Corollary: To forestall any “giggle factor” (a la Amelia), names not be revealed by NASA until the actual successful landing.
The only one that I even begin to like is "Journey." Brings to mind visions of seeing what's beyond that next hill, into the valley beyond...
I especially dislike trying to name spacecraft from a list of noun-form adjectives. Curiosity? I'm sorry, I think in terms of the diffident statement "Well, that's a curiosity," referring to some trivial, poorly-understood situation or even device. You know, as in the exchange, "What is that?" "Oh, nothing -- just a curiosity."
Why not some *exploratory* names, like Perseverance, or Far Horizon? But "Curiosity" and such as names, are just... I dunno... lame.
"Vision" might be nice, if the whole point of MSL was to see things. While I'm sure the cameras will be quite important in its science mission, I don't think that "Vision" is an accurate portrayal of the geological mission of the new rover. So, I can't get behind that one, either.
"Amelia" is fine, except that there is that nasty little connection between Earhart and "mysterious disappearance." For the same reason, I don't think anyone would have suggested Nungesser and Coli for the names of the MERs, no matter how accomplished the pair were before they disappeared on their trans-Atlantic attempt. And remember, Amelia Earhart wasn't the only one on that final flight -- to honor her navigator, ought the Descent Stage be renamed Fred?
Just my opinions -- y'all are more than welcome to disagree, as always.
-the other Doug
I tought that the mission of MSL is based on "Perception" since it is carrying the most sophisticated instrumental ever sent to the space. So MSL will be highly perceptive to its environment searching for any signs of past and present life.
On Stu's point of engaging children in science - read http://news10now.com/content/all_news/136114/oneida-county-girl-could-name-the-next-mars-rover/Default.aspx on the girl who nominated Amelia as a name for MSL.
Regardless of how good or bad we think these names area, there are children (at least in the US) who are thinking about Mars exploration.
...and the winner is...'SCIENCE'.
'Roundup' - now that's a much better name.
Aside from the disappearance issue I think it's odd to name a ground vehicle after an aviator. (The first Martian airplane maybe.) 'Louis' would be more appropriate I think:
http://www.citroenet.org.uk/resources/books/biblio-crossingsands.html
Of the finalists we're stuck with I think I could get accustomed to Adventure most easily.
They should call her "Darwin". It was his anniversary recently. Though that won't proberbly please the creationalists...........
"Monkeys" on Mars....anyone ?
I held my nose and voted for Journey. I tried dragging all the rest into the #9 box but it wouldn't let me. Well, as someone else has already noted, I seem to recall hearing Spirit and Opportunity for the first time, and gagging at that time, too. So, I guess it's just one of those things that will grow on you. As long as it isn't Pursuit. Or Wonder. Or Perception. Or...
Even "Colbert" would have been better than that bunch...
The Japanese word for http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinode is in use for another mission at the moment; much more relevant for that mission than MSL.
Stepping back a bit, it almost seems as if US spacecraft naming follows four different traditions: abstract exploratory heraldry (Mariner, Voyager, Viking, Pioneer, New Horizons, Messenger, Odyssey, Pathfinder, Ranger), personal tribute (Magellan, Galileo, Cassini, Sojourner), even more abstract emotive reference (Spirit, Opportunity), and sheer pragmatism (LRO, Lunar Orbiter, MRO, MGS).
Of the four, I personally prefer the first & last, and actually it seems like the first is dominant.
Might I propose a fifth category as well, one that will unify the outliers with a common theme: imagery evocative of mission objectives (Stardust, Deep Impact, Genesis, Phoenix, Dawn).
Journey has a new lease on life -- it's no longer Steve Perry, http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2007/12/05/journey-finds-new-singer-the-old-fashioned-way-on-the-internet/.
Please don't ask me why I know this.
--Emily
Just a small-town girl....livin' in a lonely wo-o-orld....
I voted too - I went for Sunrise first (because it suggests birth or awakening) - and there's already a Dawn out there, so it fits.
If I had to put forward my own they would be :
It took me a while to narrow down which I disliked the least, but I think I eventually went for Pursuit, with runners-up being Vision and Journey.
Most disliked: Perception.
I'm sure, like some others have mentioned, that we'll probably get used to whatever they pick, eventually.
Well, after reviewing the naming traditions (agree there are at least five; good catch, Poolio!), I voted for Amelia. Not super-enthused about it but it's better than the rest, IMHO. The other nouns/gerunds/adjectives just lack something...maybe not assertive enough for the boldness of the venture.
However, like the MERs, it's always gonna really be MSL to me!
I think it should be called Rover.
Then it would be the Rover rover.
The name for MSL should be announced any day now.
I was just listening to the JPL Ustream open house in the SAF. I don't know if this is a mistake or not, but at around 10 minutes into the stream, Mike Watkins says that MSL will get a name in the next couple of months .
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/1457035
Sigh.
I guess it's difficult to choose from such awesome names as Perception, Journey and Adventure.
When you see it, only "Big Ass Rover" seems really appropriate (with that nuclear powerplant sticking out the back)... - The abbreviation isn't bad either.
And the winner is...Curiosity...
Article - [http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/msl-20090527.html]
Color me 'unimpressed.' But still, great education and outreach... and that's the important thing. Hopefully the name will grow on us as the months pass by.
Well, like Opportunity it has far too many syllables for everyday use. Luckily it shortens nicely to 'Curie'.
This is my pre-emptive 'don't bitch and moan' warning.
It is what it is. Few people liked Spirit and Opportunity to begin with.
At least it now has a name - time to change the sub-forum title
Curiosity has landed!
Curiosity has passed the 10 km mark!
Curiosity has found signs of water!
Curiosity is stuck in a sand pit!
Curiosity has freed itself from the pit!
Meh, it works I guess.
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