Mars Rover Has a New Name

Artist concept of MSL. Credit: JPL

The Mars Science Laboratory rover, scheduled for launch in 2011, now has a new name, thanks to a sixth-grade student from Kansas. Twelve-year-old Clara Ma submitted the winning entry, “Curiosity” in the name-the-rover contest for schoolchildren, sponsored by NASA. “We have been eager to call the rover by name,” said Pete Theisinger, who manages the JPL team building and testing Curiosity. “Giving it a name worthy of this mission’s quest means a lot to the people working on it.”

For winning the naming contest, Clara gets to sign her name directly on the rover. But you can send your name to Mars with Curiosity, too.
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