14 DAY TRIAL // Students in the United States have been called upon by the American space agency to come up with a new name for the twin probes currently heading towards the Moon. At this time, the endeavor is known only by its NASA designation, GRAIL (Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory).
The mission features two identical, solar-powered space probe, called GRAIL-A and GRAIL-B. They are taking a detour on their way to Earth's natural satellite, because NASA wanted to maximize the amount of time the spacecraft could spend conducting actual science in lunar orbit.
As such, they are expected to reach their destination around New Year's, or in the first couple of days of 2012. But NASA wants the spacecraft to have names given by the public, such as is tradition with other missions as well.
The public named the COLBERT treadmill on the International Space Station (ISS), the Spirit and Opportunity rovers on the surface of the Red Planet, as well as the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) exploration robot Curiosity. These are just some of the examples the agency has.
In order to rename GRAIL, NASA decided to turn to US students. The challenge is addressed to children from kindergarten all the way to 12th grade. An online entry form is available for teachers, who must centralize the names their students propose, and then forward them to the agency.
All entries must be submitted by November 11. NASA hopes to be able to browse through the proposals, and decide on a suitable name that would be official bestowed on the twin probes before they reach lunar orbit.
“A NASA mission to the Moon is one of the reasons why I am a scientist today. My hope is that GRAIL motivates young people today towards careers in science, math and technology,” explains Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) research scientist Maria Zuber.
“Getting involved with naming our two GRAIL spacecraft could inspire their interest not only in space exploration but in the sciences, and that's a good thing,” adds the expert, who is the principal investigator of the GRAIL mission.
The twin spacecraft are managed by experts at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), a division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), in Pasadena. The mission is part of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center's (MSFC) Discovery Program.
This “mission will enable scientists to learn about the moon's internal structure and composition, and give scientists a better understanding of its origin. Accurate knowledge of the moon's gravity also could be used to help choose future landing sites,” a NASA press release explains.