What criteria is used to choose names for the space crafts?
ANSWER from John Moreau on July 24, 1997: Traditionally, spacecraft have been named for famous explorers and discoverers. But frequently names reflect some other significant contribution to history. Certainly though, spacecraft names have tended to be biased towards famous male personages. Therefore it was the right time for the Mars Pathfinder Rover to be named after a famous woman. The name Sojourner was picked from a long list of suggested names sent in by schoolchildren around the country. The “backup” rover, which is at JPL in the Mars test bed is named Marie Currie, after a famous female scientist.
