Mars Rover Naming Contest

NASA has a new contest going -- to name the next Mars Rover! Wall-E, star of Disney Pixar's film of the same name, is the official "spokersbot" for the contest, which is for kids in grades K through 12. To participate in the contest, children need to think of a name of the Rover and then write an essay explaining why they chose that name. Essay length varies, depending on the age of the child: younger children write shorter essays while older children write longer ones.

You and your kids can visit Name the Rover website to learn more about the contest. On the site's home page, kids can watch a short video about the contest. The can also click on a link to learn more about the rover. Clicking on that link will lead kids to some short animate videos about the rover.

Kids who love space will love watching the videos and learning about the rover and its mission on Mars. And they will surely get some great ideas for rover names!

Essays must be submitted between November 18, 2008 and January 25, 2009. Kids aged thirteen and under must submit their essays via mail, but kids aged fourteen and up can submit their essays online. In March 2009, the public will have a chance to vote on the names by going to the polling page. WInners will be announced around April 16th, 2009.