Name That Rover

Fresh off the closing of the contest to name the new ISS module (in which the name Colbert got the most votes) voting is now open in the contest to Name the Rover.

The rover in question is the next Mars rover known by the somewhat uninpiring name of the Mars Science Laboratory. Now schedule to launch in 2011, it will be much larger than the current rovers. The MSL will be powered by a radioisotope power supply which will allow it to travel farther, faster, and use more instruments that the solar powerd rovers (and won't be subject to dusty solar panels which produce less power). It suite of instruments will be able to perform much more advanced analysis of soil chemistry and determine whether Mars was or is capable of supporting life.

There are some nice videos on the site to check out as well...vote soon..voting only runs from March 23rd to the 29th!

Reprinted with permission from the Half-Astrophysicst Blog.