Mars 2020 rover is christened ‘Perseverance’ after NASA let public choose name in a contest

NASA has equipped its Mars 2020 rover with everything it needs to explore the Red planet, except for a name – until now.

Called Perseverance, the rover’s title was picked from a ‘Name the Rover’ essay contest that received 28,000 entries from children ranging from kindergartners to high school.

The name was revealed on Thursday during a live streaming and was chosen by seventh grader Alex Mathers who’s winning essay compared the rover to the human race.  

‘Curiosity. InSight. Spirit. Opportunity,’ Mathers wrote. ‘If you think about it, all of these names of past Mars rovers are qualities we possess as humans.’ 

‘We are always curious, and seek opportunity. We have the spirit and insight to explore the Moon, Mars, and beyond. But, if rovers are to be the qualities of us as a race, we missed the most important thing. Perseverance.’

The Mars 2020 rover, which was built at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California., is now at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for final preparations before it launches to space in July it is set to touch down on Mars in 12 months.

NASA has equipped its Mars 2020 rover with everything it needs to explore the Red planet, except for a name – until now. Called Perseverance, the rover’s title was picked from a ‘Name the Rover’ essay contest that received 28,000 entries from children ranging from kindergartners to high school

This is the first time NASA has asked the public to name one of its rovers.

Other models use abbreviations, such as MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution) and Insight (Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations).

Following the contest, the agency selected 155 semi-finalists and then narrowed the names down to just nine: Clarity, Courage, Endurance, Fortitude, Ingenuity, Perseverance, Promise, Tenacity and Vision.

When Perseverance lands at Jezero Crater on February 18, 2021, it will be the first spacecraft in the history of planetary exploration with the ability to accurately retarget its point of touchdown during the landing sequence.

The name was revealed on Thursday during a live streaming and was chosen by seventh grader Alex Mathers (pictured) who's winning essay compared the rover to the human race. 'The human race will always persevere towards the future,' he said while reading his essay aloud in front of thousands of people

The name was revealed on Thursday during a live streaming and was chosen by seventh grader Alex Mathers (pictured) who’s winning essay compared the rover to the human race. ‘The human race will always persevere towards the future,’ he said while reading his essay aloud in front of thousands of people

This is the first time NASA has asked the public to name one of its rovers (artist impression). Following the contest, the agency selected 155 semi-finalists and then narrowed the names down to just nine: Clarity, Courage, Endurance, Fortitude, Ingenuity, Perseverance, Promise, Tenacity and Vision

This is the first time NASA has asked the public to name one of its rovers (artist impression). Following the contest, the agency selected 155 semi-finalists and then narrowed the names down to just nine: Clarity, Courage, Endurance, Fortitude, Ingenuity, Perseverance, Promise, Tenacity and Vision

When Perseverance lands at Jezero Crater on February 18, 2021, it will be the first spacecraft in the history of planetary exploration with the ability to accurately retarget its point of touchdown during the landing sequence

When Perseverance lands at Jezero Crater on February 18, 2021, it will be the first spacecraft in the history of planetary exploration with the ability to accurately retarget its point of touchdown during the landing sequence

The rover search this area for signs of ancient microbial life around the crater that was once home to a lake 3.5 billion years ago and is littered with carbonates and hydrated silica.

Carbonates located in the crater’s inner rim have been found to survive in fossils on Earth for billions of years and hydrated silica was discovered in the delta that is known for its ability to preserve biosignatures.

The Mars 2020 mission will solely focused on astrobiology, or ‘the study of life throughout the universe’, NASA shared in a statement.

The future mission is tasked with searching for actual signs of past microbial life and will gather rock core samples in metal tubes that will make their way back to Earth to be studied further.

The rover search this area for signs of ancient microbial life around the crater (pictured) that was once home to a lake 3.5 billion years ago and is littered with carbonates and hydrated silica

The rover search this area for signs of ancient microbial life around the crater (pictured) that was once home to a lake 3.5 billion years ago and is littered with carbonates and hydrated silica

The American space agency is deploying a new suite of scientific instruments on the 2020 rover that will build on Curiosity’s discoveries, which has found clues that life once thrived on the Red Planet.

One specific tool will be in the form of a laser fitted at the robot’s mast and shoots pulses capable of vaporizing rocks from up to 20 feet away.

The laser beam heats the target to 18,000 degrees Fahrenheit, which is hot enough to transform the solid rock into plasma that can be imaged by a camera for further analysis.

Using this instrument will help researchers identify minerals that are beyond the reach of the rover’s robotic arm or in areas too steep for the rover to go.

It includes a microphone allowing scientists to listen each time the laser hits a target, as it gives off a popping sounds that changes depending on what the rock is made up of.

WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT NASA’S MARS 2020 ROVER?

Nasa’s Mars 2020 rover will search for signs of ancient life on Mars in a bid to help scientists better understand how life evolved on our own planet.

The machine will explore an ancient river delta within the Jezero Crater, which was once filled with a 1,600-foot (500-meter) deep lake.

It is believed that the region hosted microbial life some 3.5 to 3.9 billion years ago.

Nasa's Mars 2020 rover (artist's impression) will search for signs of ancient life on Mars in a bid to help scientists better understand how life evolved on our own planet

Nasa’s Mars 2020 rover (artist’s impression) will search for signs of ancient life on Mars in a bid to help scientists better understand how life evolved on our own planet

The $2.5 billion (£1.95 billion) Mars 2020 is planned to launch in July 2020, and land in February 2021.

Mars 2020 is designed to land inside the crater and collect samples that will eventually be returned to Earth for further analysis.

Nasa says a second mission will need to fly to the planet and return the samples, perhaps by the later 2020s.

This concept art shows the Mars 2020 rover landing on the red planet via NASA's 'sky-crane' system

This concept art shows the Mars 2020 rover landing on the red planet via NASA’s ‘sky-crane’ system

 

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