A name for MSL, MSL Options

[Ipparchus]

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!

[As old as Voyage...]

How about 'Leviathan' due to MSL's monsterous stature and menacing profile?

[peter59]

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.

[ngunn]

Great book. Not sure the name is very auspicious, taken from that source though.

[dmuller]

MUV ... the Martian version of the Earth's SUVs, but environmentally friendly with no CO2 emissions (just dont mention the nuclear reactor on board)

[djellison]

'MSL' will do probably.

But with a laser beam and nuclear power...the only name you're going to call it is 'sir'

Doug

[nprev]

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"?

[centsworth_II]

I still like "Ms. L". We just have to figure out what the "L" stands for. Lulu?

[nprev]

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!

[dvandorn]

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

[nprev]

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...

[dvandorn]

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

[centsworth_II]

...to me MSL looks like it's got a definite masculine vibe going on. I wouldn't pick a fight with it!

You gonna mess with this?

[ngunn]

Marvin.

Douglas Adams took his literary cue from Stanislaw Lem. He'd probably have voted for 'Invincible' but crossed his fingers under the table.

[PFK]

I dunno. Anthropomorphizing is utterly subjective, but to me MSL looks like it's got a definite masculine vibe going on.

MArtian CHemIStry MObile Laboratory

[helvick]

I second Doug's call for the MSL team to have the conviction to celebrate an inspirational Martian. I'm assuming he was referring to this early effort by the MER team to call MER-A, Marvin and MER-B, Daffy.


The fact that there is yet another legendary Marvin in Adam's Hitchhiker's Guide is a serious plus in my book.

[centsworth_II]

MARVIN the MARs maVIN.

[jabe]

MARVIN the MARs maVIN.

along same lines..just spelled differently

MARVAN.. MARs miniVAN

[Pavel]

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".

[charborob]

If you try to pronounce MSL, you get "Muscle", which seems to me an appropriate name for the beast.

[centsworth_II]

Many missions are names after historic ships.

It must be historic. It's got it's own web site.

[mchan]

If you try to pronounce MSL, you get "Muscle", which seems to me an appropriate name for the beast.

I tried it and got "Missile".

[Ant103]

And what about name like "Hope"?

[vmcgregor]

I predict a MSL naming contest is coming soon

[nprev]

And what about name like "Hope"?

Yeah...as in "Sure hope the EDL system works!" (Sorry; couldn't resist!)

[centsworth_II]

And what about name like "Hope"?

I guess this wouldn't be a favorite of the "Spirit" and "Opportunity" haters (the names, not the craft). I personally liked those names, even before the bearers of them performed such feats as to make any name they carry one for the ages. But Hope is too smarmy even for me. Let's save it for a killer-asteroid deflection mission when it really counts!

[dvandorn]

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..."

[climber]

I predict a MSL naming contest is coming soon

Coming from you, it is surely NOT to be called a prediction!
Thank you for the info

[Phil Stooke]

I'm thinking 'Canyonero'

Phil

[centsworth_II]

I'm thinking 'Canyonero'

Let's hope the MSL -- I mean Canyonero -- is still fully loaded when it gets to Mars.
http://x11.xanga.com/e5ca82075713768858955/q46256229.bmp

[Stu]

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".

[nprev]

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.

[djellison]

Technically, I think Carl has been honored in that way already with the renaming of the Pathfinder Lander to the Sagan Memorial Station.

[nprev]

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...

[Vultur]

Burroughs? Wells?

[djellison]

Richard Cook mentioned a naming contest in his Von Karman lecture (see the JPL website). It'll happen, just not yet.

[mps]

MSL naming contest announced:
http://marsrovername.jpl.nasa.gov/

[ilbasso]

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"

[mcaplinger]

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.

[dvandorn]

The contest is being run by Disney, so a dignified and appropriate name is practically guaranteed.

Oh, gods and goddesses -- I can hear the news commentators now:

"The new Mars Rover, Goofy, landed on Mars today..."



-the other Doug

[climber]

"The new Mars Rover, Goofy, landed on Mars today..."
-the other Doug

As a matter of fact, Mickey Mouse turned 80 yesterday nov 18th! Let's hope MSL will last that many months...

[ElkGroveDan]

Sounding like a broken record, I know, but still gotta go with "Sagan".

If it was an inter-galactic rover exploring billions and billions of worlds I'd agree, but since it's going to Mars I have to favor Bradbury.

[djellison]

Nuclear power and a laser beam?

"Sir"

or

"Whatever it wants to be called"

Doug

[ugordan]

I, for one, welcome our new laser-wielding overlord.

[Guest_PhilCo126_*]

Judging its camera = Gort ( robot from The day the Earth stood still )

[Gonzz]

Chuck Norris

[mcaplinger]

...since it's going to Mars I have to favor Bradbury.

Since it seems inevitable that we are going to have to listen to everyone's opinion about what the name should be, you might make an effort to at least conform to the rules:

"If your idea is the name of a person, the person cannot still be living."

[dvandorn]

Nuclear power and a laser beam?

"Sir"

or

"Whatever it wants to be called"

Well -- that certainly settles the question of the landing site, doesn't it? Where does such a beast land? Wherever it wants to!



-the other Doug

[climber]

Since it seems inevitable that we are going to have to listen to everyone's opinion about what the name should be, you might make an effort to at least conform to the rules:
"If your idea is the name of a person, the person cannot still be living."

Well, Bradbury would not qualify but if I understand what Doug is saying, "Ray" would

[ElkGroveDan]

Since it seems inevitable that we are going to have to listen to everyone's opinion about what the name should be

Ouch. Would you rather sit out on the porch grandpa until dinner's ready while we have this chat?

[mcaplinger]

Would you rather sit out on the porch grandpa until dinner's ready while we have this chat?

Gee, sorry, I guess you are eligible for this contest.

[djellison]

Now now children

[Guest_Enceladus75_*]

Some Suggestions:

Powell
AresLab
Barsoom
Mars Mobilab
Schiparelli
Labrover 1

[ilbasso]

Elvis. Just to hear the NASA Public Affairs person say at launch, "Elvis has left the building."

[Guest_Enceladus75_*]

Hmmmm...given the power of the MSL

What about "Predator"?

[jekbradbury]

If it was an inter-galactic rover exploring billions and billions of worlds I'd agree, but since it's going to Mars I have to favor Bradbury.

What a great idea...

- James Bradbury (no relation)

[imipak]

My ideal name would be "Lewis and Clark" but... [...]
My other choices would be "Prospector", "Seeker" and my current fave, "Pilgrim".

Prospector's been used; "Seeker"? seems a little... banal? And "pilgrim" has unfortunate religious connotations I suspect. ("Predator" definitely has overly-controversial associations IMO. Oh dear, looks like Doctor Negativity is paying a house call... sorry )

"Lewis and Clark" works for me, but apart from the objection Stu mentioned - a couple of old friends who worked on the post-production SFX for "Event Horizon" might jump to the wrong conclusion. (Random coincidence: they shared a flat with a guy who did a lot of the CGI for that BBC "The Planets" series.)

Having finally got around to reading some of his books, "Feynman" appeals to me; but his field was at the other end of the magnitudes scale. There's an asteroid, "7495 Feynman", but no surface features or spacecraft, AFAIK?

[nprev]

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.)

[CosmicRocker]

... The contest is being run by Disney, so a dignified and appropriate name is practically guaranteed.

OMG! I can only hope it will be something like Goofy, rather than My Little Mermaid. If I had to choose from among the suggestions posted here that are ineligible for the contest, I'd vote for Gort or NPREV.

[MahFL]

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."

[Gonzz]

Since it's powered by a RTG, why not use the name Curie

[djellison]

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

[peter59]

Hmmmm...given the power of the MSL

My suggestion is "Goliath".

[ElkGroveDan]

I've been saying those wheels are the size of small beer kegs. Maybe they should name it after Charlie Mops.

(...and as far as I can tell he's not a living person Mike)

[dvandorn]

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

[PFK]

AresLab

I missread that badly at first glance!
Aelita would get my vote
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aelita

[Guest_PhilCo126_*]

BIS Spaceflight magazine has time sequence photos of the MSL wheels drop test and names the vehicle "Scarecrow"

[djellison]

Scarecrow is the name of that mobility test vehicle - as it has no brain (like the scarecrow in wizard of oz)

[SFJCody]

My ideal name would be "Lewis and Clark"

The names "Lewis" and "Clark" were used for two ill-fated Earth observation missions.

[elakdawalla]

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 -- Sacagawea and York -- survived into the final round. I kind of like "Sacagawea". One can sort of see the RTG as her papoose...though I can say from experience that a papoose is more likely to steal energy than it is to provide it!

--Emily

[Phil Stooke]

Tsk, Emily - didn't you tell us not to refer to that portion of her anatomy?

Phil

[elakdawalla]

*sigh* it's really kind of hard to ignore!

[Doc]

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!

[elakdawalla]

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:

I think that the Rovers should be given these names for numerous reasons. For one thing, Taco and Chalupa are perhaps the coolest words ever. The other main reason is that Mexicans have never gone to space and would probably love to have the Rovers named after something they created. It would also make me very happy, because Taco is my favorite word, and I use it instead of "hello". Thank you for your time,

An obvious corollary to the essay's thesis is that "Chalupa" means "goodbye."

More silly stuff from the MER naming contest here.

--Emily

[nprev]

...yep, the brain chemistry definitely does change during adolescence, doesn't it?

[djellison]

It doesn't change - it just goes AWOL for 5 years

[nprev]

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...

[stewjack]

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

[vmcgregor]

Elvis. Just to hear the NASA Public Affairs person say at launch, "Elvis has left the building."

LOL! That would make for an interesting personality on the twitter feed too!

[centsworth_II]

Wall-E grew up and became Wall-TER. (Wheeled all-Terrain Exploratory Rover)


Original MSL image: http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/HiBlog/?p=131

[algorimancer]

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

[centsworth_II]

I rather like insect names, considering the RTG appearance....

Devil's coach horse.

[BrianL]

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

I'm all for calling it Buffy the Rock Slayer.

[Hungry4info]

Devil's coach horse.

Wow, that looks a LOT like MSL!

[BrianL]

Wow, that looks a LOT like MSL!

Maybe if SkyCrane ™ doesn't work.

[Guest_Oersted_*]

Call me boring, but.... "Explorer" sounds fine to me.

[Hungry4info]

Call me boring, but.... "Explorer" sounds fine to me.

I still like "MSL"

[sci44]

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)

[Stu]

Well, seeing as the ************ thing is everywhere and there's no escape from it, I guess there's only one name to go with...

[ElkGroveDan]

I've always been fond of Vespucci as an explorer.

[sci44]

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?

[ElkGroveDan]

Perhaps we should run a sweepstake?

I'll find a polite way to predict what Doug will say: Ummmmm.........no.

[djellison]

Seconded.

[stevesliva]

Just call it Tim.

[nprev]

I keep telling you guys: Nuclear-Powered Roving Exploration Vehicle is the only choice!

[sci44]

I keep telling you guys: Nuclear-Powered Roving Exploration Vehicle is the only choice!

Or (looking at your icon) Binary Electronic Nuclear-Device Exploration Rover!

You can bite my shiny metal..

PS - I would seriously nominate Holst, to commemorate the finest piece of music composed for Mars.

[dvandorn]

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

[mps]

Off-Track Heat Engine Rover Doing Observations Under Ground...

Too long for a good acronym, and as MSL will explore relatively flat terrains, I would propose Martian Plains Surveyor (or Mars Plains Surveyor).
Seriously, I think I will always prefer the original name - MSL.

[DEChengst]

Calimero. Because Mars is big and MSL is small and that's not fair...

[stevo]

Is it not called Bruce, then?
.
.
.
.
That's going to be a bit confusing.