Name the next Mars rover....

[dlavery]

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.

Information about the contest is available at:

http://marsrovername.jpl.nasa.gov

-end-