Deadline Nears for Student Contest to Name NASA's Next Mars Rover

MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIFORNIA 91109. TELEPHONE 818-354-5011
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov

Guy Webster 818-354-6278
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
guy.webster@jpl.nasa.gov

Dwayne Brown 202-358-1726
NASA Headquarters, Washington
dwayne.c.brown@nasa.gov

NEWS RELEASE: 2009-007 January 16, 2009

Deadline Nears for Student Contest to Name NASA's Next Mars Rover

WASHINGTON -- NASA is issuing a last call to the nation's youth for entries in a contest to name
the agency's next Mars rover.

The naming contest, in partnership with Disney-Pixar's WALL-E, invites ideas from students 5 to 18
years old and enrolled in a U.S. school. The contest began two months ago. Entries will be accepted
until midnight Jan. 25 (Eastern Time).

Entrants should submit essays explaining why their suggested name for the rover is the right fit. In
March, the public will have an opportunity to rank nine finalist names via the Internet as additional
input for judges to consider. In April, NASA will announce the winning name.

The Mars Science Laboratory rover will be larger and more capable than any craft previously sent to
land on the Red Planet. The rover will check to see whether the environment in a selected landing
region ever has been favorable for supporting microbial life and preserving evidence of life. The
rover also will search for minerals that formed in the presence of water and look for several chemical
building blocks of life. NASA is currently building and testing the rover, which will launch in 2011.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Science Laboratory for
NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.

For contest information and rules visit: http://marsrovername.jpl.nasa.gov .

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