155 students from across the U.S. have been chosen as semifinalists in NASA's essay contest to name the Mars 2020 rover. and see it launch from Cape Canaveral this July.

NASA's Mars2020 rover is one step closer to having its own name after 155 students acrossthe U.S. were chosen as semifinalists in the "Name the Rover" essay contest.Just one will be selected to win the grand prize - the exciting honor of namingthe rover and an invitation to see the spacecraft launch in July 2020 from CapeCanaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

The currentlyunnamed rover is a robotic scientist weighing more than 2,300 pounds (1,000kilograms). It will search for signs of past microbial life, characterize theplanet's climate and geology, collect samples for future return to Earth andpave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet.

"Thisrover is the first leg of a round-trip mission to Mars that will advanceunderstanding in key science fields like astrobiology," said Lori Glaze,director of NASA's Planetary Science Division. "This contest is a cool wayto engage the next generation and encourage careers in all STEM fields. Thechosen name will help define this rover's unique personality among our fleet ofMartian spacecraft."

With more than 28,000essay submissions received from K-12 students, NASA recruited volunteer contestjudges from every U.S. state and territory. Nearly 4,700 eligible judge volunteerswere selected from a diverse pool of educators, professionals, and spaceenthusiasts and were instrumental in selecting the semifinalists.

The next phasesof judging will reduce the competition to nine finalists, and the public willhave an opportunity to vote for their favorite name online in late January. Theresults of the poll will be a consideration in the final naming selection.

The ninefinalists will talk with a panel of experts, including Glaze, NASA astronautJessica Watkins, NASAJPL rover driver Nick Wiltsie and Clara Ma, who proposed the name for the MarsScience Laboratory rover, Curiosity, as a sixth-grade student in 2009. Thegrand prize winner will be announced in early March 2020.

For completecontest and prize details, including a full listing of the 155 state/territory semifinalists,visit:

https://www.futureengineers.org/nametherover

The namingcontest partnership is part of a Space Act Agreement in educational and publicoutreach efforts between NASA, Battelle of Columbus, Ohio, and Future Engineersof Burbank, California.

NASA's Jet PropulsionLaboratory in Pasadena, California, manages rover development for the agency.The Launch Services Program at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida isresponsible for launch management.

Mars 2020 ispart of a larger program that includes missions to the Moon as a way to preparefor human exploration of the Red Planet. Charged with returning astronauts tothe Moon by 2024, NASA will establish a sustained human presence on and aroundthe Moon by 2028 through NASA's Artemislunar exploration plans.

For moreinformation about the mission, go to:

https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/

For more aboutNASA's Moon to Mars plans, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/topics/moon-to-mars

News Media Contact

DC Agle Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California 818-393-9011 david.c.agle@jpl.nasa.gov

2020-007

Originally posted here:

NASA's Mars 2020 Rover Closer to Getting Its Name - Jet Propulsion Laboratory