Help NASA choose from 9 finalist names for the Mars mission

NASA selected nine finalists in the student contest to name the next Mars rover-probe, currently called ‘Mars 2020′‘.

Note that students across the US, from kindergarten through high school, have submitted more than 28,000 potential names to the probe jeep Mars 2020 from NASA. However, a panel of 4,700 volunteer judges chose only 9 names that went to the survey online.

The search online will remain open until January 27, 2020. The maximum number of votes will decide the name of the probe jeep that will travel through Mars. You can vote for your favorite name at go.nasa.gov/name2020. According to NASA, the space agency selected three submissions in each of the three age categories – Kindergarten grades-4, 5-8 and 9-12.

The online poll will be opened until January 27, 2020. The maximum votes will decide the name of a rover that will roam across Mars. You can vote for your favorite name for Mars rover 2020 at go.nasa.gov/name2020.

Below are the nine finalists:

1. endurance, (Kindergarten 4th grade, by Oliver Jacobs, from Virginia)
2. Tenacity, (Kindergarten through 4th grade, by Eamon Reilly, from Pennsylvania)
3. Promise, (Kindergarten through 4th grade, by Amira Shanshiry, from Massachusetts)
4. Perseverance, (5th to 8th grade, by Alexander Mather, Virginia)
5. Vision, (5th to 8th grade, by Alexander Mather, Virginia)
6. Clarity, (5th to 8th grade, by Nora Benitez, from California)
7. Ingenuity, (9th to 12th grade, by Vaneeza Rupani, from Alabama)
8. Fortitude, (9th to 12th grade, by Anthony Yoon, Oklahoma)
9. Courage, (9th to 12th grade, by Tori Gray, from Louisiana)

In a statement, NASA said:

After the survey is over, the nine finalist students will discuss their names for the probe jeep with a panel that includes NASA Planetary Science Division director Lori Glaze, NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins, NASA-JPL pilot Nick Wiltsie and Clara Ma, who won the honor of naming the probe jeep Curiosity, as a sixth grade student in 2009.

The contest will be concluded in early March, when the new name of the probe jeep – and the student behind it – are announced. The grand prize winner will also receive an invitation to view the July 2020 launch of the probe from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida

The Mars launch of the mission Mars 2020 is scheduled for July this year. The probe jeep is expected to land in an impact crater called Jezero, where liquid water has already flowed, about seven months (February 2021) after Earth’s departure. Mars 2020 will use a set of high-tech tools to look for signs of alien old microbes. The robot will have a laser device to analyze interesting rocks from afar.