Who comes up with the names for the Mars Rovers?
SCOTT MAXWELL: Spirit and Opportunity were named by a nine-year-old third-grader from Arizona named Sofi Collis. At NASA’s request, the LEGO Company and The Planetary Society held an essay contest, inviting American students to suggest names for the rovers. Sofi, who had been adopted from a Russian orphanage by an American family, wrote a brief but beautiful and moving essay about dreaming she could fly from her orphanage to the stars. The rovers’ names represent, for her, the spirit of America and the opportunity she found by coming here. In the course of this mission, I’ve spoken to the President, I’ve had my picture taken with the Vice President, I’ve given tours to congressmen and former NASA administrators and famous writers and all kinds of people. But one of my most treasured memories from the early days of the mission is a picture of me with Sofi, the little girl who named our rovers, the night that Spirit drove off her lander onto the surface of Mars. Answered by Senior Resear
