Philosophy
Winner number two in the metropolis. On May 28th Kavya Shivashankar from Olathe, Kansas won first place in the Scripps' National Spelling Bee Contest and today NASA announced the Mars Science Laboratory naming contest winner...Clara Ma from Lenexa, Kansas, [The two cities are adjacent to each other.]
Congratulations to Clara Ma.
Here is her winning essay...
Curiosity is an everlasting flame that burns in everyone's mind. It makes me get out of bed in the morning and wonder what surprises life will throw at me that day. Curiosity is such a powerful force. Without it, we wouldn't be who we are today. When I was younger, I wondered, 'Why is the sky blue?', 'Why do the stars twinkle?', 'Why am I me?', and I still do. I had so many questions, and America is the place where I want to find my answers. Curiosity is the passion that drives us through our everyday lives. We have become explorers and scientists with our need to ask questions and to wonder. Sure, there are many risks and dangers, but despite that, we still continue to wonder and dream and create and hope. We have discovered so much about the world, but still so little. We will never know everything there is to know, but with our burning curiosity, we have learned so much.
Audio clip
Here's an artist's conception of what the new rover will look like on Mars.
"Curiosity" and a stellar essay have landed a 12-year-old Lenexa girl the honor of naming NASA's next Mars rover.
NASA announced Wednesday that Clara Ma, a sixth-grader at Sunflower Elementary School, and her suggested name, Curiosity, were chosen over 9,000 students nationally who submitted essays to name the rover.
Her prize will be a trip to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., to sign her name directly on the rover as it is being assembled. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures is providing the prize.
Clara said it would be a thrill to know that the rover would be carrying her name to Mars. Getting the call recently that she had won the essay contest was especially exciting.
"I was really surprised and really excited," Clara said. "My sister and I were running up and down our stairs."
She and her family were required to keep her win a secret until the official announcement Wednesday at an assembly at her school. Clara said it was difficult keeping the news from her friends.
The Curiosity rover is to be launched in 2011 and land on Mars in 2012. It will use a set of advanced science instruments to check whether the environment in a selected landing region ever has been favorable for supporting microbial life and preserving evidence of such life. The rover also will search for minerals that formed in the presence of water and look for chemical building blocks of life.
Clara was among nine finalists in the contest, which was open to students from kindergarten to 12th grade, who submitted names ranging from heroes to animals to bugs.
Mark Dahl, the mission’s program executive at NASA in Washington, said several of the names would have fit well.
"I am especially pleased with the choice, which recognizes something universally human and essential to science," he said.
In Clara's essay, she called curiosity "an everlasting flame that burns in everyone's mind."
"We have discovered so much about the world, but still so little," she wrote. "We will never know everything there is to know, but with burning curiosity, we have learned so much."
The award was presented to Clara by Suparna Mukherjee, a NASA engineer working on the rover.
"She's going to come out to JPL and actually sign the robot and get a tour of the lab, and we're real excited that we have a good name," Mukherjee said.
And...
When the new Mars rover blasts off for the red planet in 2011, the launch will carry special significance for a 12-year-old Lenexa girl.
The name it will bear — "Curiosity"— was provided by Clara Ma, a sixth-grader at Sunflower Elementary School.
She was among 9,000 students nationally who submitted essays to NASA suggesting a name for the rover. NASA announced today that Clara had won at a special assembly at the Lenexa school.
Her prize will be a trip to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., to sign her name directly on the rover as it is being assembled.
"Many of the nominating essays were excellent, and several of the names would have fit well," said Mark Dahl, the mission’s program executive at NASA in Washington. "I am especially pleased with the choice, which recognizes something universally human and essential to science."
In her essay, Clara called curiosity "an everlasting flame that burns in everyone's mind."
"We have discovered so much about the world, but still so little," she wrote. "We will never know everything there is to know, but with burning curiosity, we have learned so much."
- Lego Space Kit...mars Curiosity Rover
"Mars fans vote to immortalise Curiosity rover in Lego" by Lisa Grossman June 18th, 2013 New Scientist NASA's Mars Curiosity rover may already have discovered the first definitive evidence that the Red Planet was once suited to life – but only...
- "curiosity" To Land Soon
"Curiosity Rover on Track for Early August Landing" June 28th, 2012 NASAA maneuver on Tuesday adjusted the flight path of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft for delivering the rover Curiosity to a landing target beside a Martian mountain....
- Saturday, November 26th At 10:02am Est..."curiosity" To Be Launched
The Mars Science Laboratory, bolted inside the payload fairing of an Atlas V rocket, is hoisted into place at Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. "Curiosity Rover Bound for Mars" by Suzanne Presto November 22nd, 2011...
- "curiosity" To Land In Mars' Gale Crater
"Mars rover aims for deep crater" by Jonathan Amos July 22nd, 2011 BBC News Nasa's next Mars rover will be aimed at one of the planet's deepest craters. MSL-Curiosity weighs almost a tonne and is the size of a Mini Cooper. It will carry instruments...
- Deceased--mars Rover Spirit
Mars Rover Spirit January 3rd, 2004 to May 25th, 2011 "Mars Exploration Rover Spirit Laid To Rest" May 25th, 2011 Mars Daily NASA will cease any further attempts to make contact with the long-lived Mars Exploration Rover Spirit, which last communicated...
Philosophy
"Curiosity"--Clara Ma names next Mars rover
Winner number two in the metropolis. On May 28th Kavya Shivashankar from Olathe, Kansas won first place in the Scripps' National Spelling Bee Contest and today NASA announced the Mars Science Laboratory naming contest winner...Clara Ma from Lenexa, Kansas, [The two cities are adjacent to each other.]
Congratulations to Clara Ma.
Here is her winning essay...
Curiosity is an everlasting flame that burns in everyone's mind. It makes me get out of bed in the morning and wonder what surprises life will throw at me that day. Curiosity is such a powerful force. Without it, we wouldn't be who we are today. When I was younger, I wondered, 'Why is the sky blue?', 'Why do the stars twinkle?', 'Why am I me?', and I still do. I had so many questions, and America is the place where I want to find my answers. Curiosity is the passion that drives us through our everyday lives. We have become explorers and scientists with our need to ask questions and to wonder. Sure, there are many risks and dangers, but despite that, we still continue to wonder and dream and create and hope. We have discovered so much about the world, but still so little. We will never know everything there is to know, but with our burning curiosity, we have learned so much.
Audio clip
Here's an artist's conception of what the new rover will look like on Mars. "Lenexa girl wins NASA's Mars rover naming contest"
by
Jim Sullinger
May 27th, 2009
The Kansas City Star
by
Jim Sullinger
May 27th, 2009
The Kansas City Star
"Curiosity" and a stellar essay have landed a 12-year-old Lenexa girl the honor of naming NASA's next Mars rover.
NASA announced Wednesday that Clara Ma, a sixth-grader at Sunflower Elementary School, and her suggested name, Curiosity, were chosen over 9,000 students nationally who submitted essays to name the rover.
Her prize will be a trip to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., to sign her name directly on the rover as it is being assembled. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures is providing the prize.
Clara said it would be a thrill to know that the rover would be carrying her name to Mars. Getting the call recently that she had won the essay contest was especially exciting.
"I was really surprised and really excited," Clara said. "My sister and I were running up and down our stairs."
She and her family were required to keep her win a secret until the official announcement Wednesday at an assembly at her school. Clara said it was difficult keeping the news from her friends.
The Curiosity rover is to be launched in 2011 and land on Mars in 2012. It will use a set of advanced science instruments to check whether the environment in a selected landing region ever has been favorable for supporting microbial life and preserving evidence of such life. The rover also will search for minerals that formed in the presence of water and look for chemical building blocks of life.
Clara was among nine finalists in the contest, which was open to students from kindergarten to 12th grade, who submitted names ranging from heroes to animals to bugs.
Mark Dahl, the mission’s program executive at NASA in Washington, said several of the names would have fit well.
"I am especially pleased with the choice, which recognizes something universally human and essential to science," he said.
In Clara's essay, she called curiosity "an everlasting flame that burns in everyone's mind."
"We have discovered so much about the world, but still so little," she wrote. "We will never know everything there is to know, but with burning curiosity, we have learned so much."
The award was presented to Clara by Suparna Mukherjee, a NASA engineer working on the rover.
"She's going to come out to JPL and actually sign the robot and get a tour of the lab, and we're real excited that we have a good name," Mukherjee said.
And...
When the new Mars rover blasts off for the red planet in 2011, the launch will carry special significance for a 12-year-old Lenexa girl.
The name it will bear — "Curiosity"— was provided by Clara Ma, a sixth-grader at Sunflower Elementary School.
She was among 9,000 students nationally who submitted essays to NASA suggesting a name for the rover. NASA announced today that Clara had won at a special assembly at the Lenexa school.
Her prize will be a trip to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., to sign her name directly on the rover as it is being assembled.
"Many of the nominating essays were excellent, and several of the names would have fit well," said Mark Dahl, the mission’s program executive at NASA in Washington. "I am especially pleased with the choice, which recognizes something universally human and essential to science."
In her essay, Clara called curiosity "an everlasting flame that burns in everyone's mind."
"We have discovered so much about the world, but still so little," she wrote. "We will never know everything there is to know, but with burning curiosity, we have learned so much."
- Lego Space Kit...mars Curiosity Rover
"Mars fans vote to immortalise Curiosity rover in Lego" by Lisa Grossman June 18th, 2013 New Scientist NASA's Mars Curiosity rover may already have discovered the first definitive evidence that the Red Planet was once suited to life – but only...
- "curiosity" To Land Soon
"Curiosity Rover on Track for Early August Landing" June 28th, 2012 NASAA maneuver on Tuesday adjusted the flight path of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft for delivering the rover Curiosity to a landing target beside a Martian mountain....
- Saturday, November 26th At 10:02am Est..."curiosity" To Be Launched
The Mars Science Laboratory, bolted inside the payload fairing of an Atlas V rocket, is hoisted into place at Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. "Curiosity Rover Bound for Mars" by Suzanne Presto November 22nd, 2011...
- "curiosity" To Land In Mars' Gale Crater
"Mars rover aims for deep crater" by Jonathan Amos July 22nd, 2011 BBC News Nasa's next Mars rover will be aimed at one of the planet's deepest craters. MSL-Curiosity weighs almost a tonne and is the size of a Mini Cooper. It will carry instruments...
- Deceased--mars Rover Spirit
Mars Rover Spirit January 3rd, 2004 to May 25th, 2011 "Mars Exploration Rover Spirit Laid To Rest" May 25th, 2011 Mars Daily NASA will cease any further attempts to make contact with the long-lived Mars Exploration Rover Spirit, which last communicated...