ESA Needs a Name for Next ISS Mission

By Nancy Atkinson - September 11, 2008 at 3:28 PM UTC | Space Exploration
dewinne.jpg

[/caption] The European Space Agency needs a bang-up, attention-grabbing moniker for the next long duration European mission to the International Space Station, and they are holding a competition for the public to submit a suitable name. In May 2009, ESA astronaut Frank De Winne, of Belgium will fly to the ISS for a six month mission. ESA is holding a competition to find a name for the mission. Have any great ideas? Here are the parameters for the competition:

The name has to reflect the following aspects:

  1. Europe is exploring space, and humans are explorers by nature. Europe has a legacy in exploring Earth and will live up to the expectations in exploring Space.

  2. Europe has its own Columbus laboratory permanently in space on the ISS. Europe uses its Columbus laboratory on the ISS for science, technology and education for the benefit of life on Earth.

  3. From space our planet looks blue because of the water. Water is the basis of life; Clean water is the basis for healthy life of all humans on Earth.

Wow, that's a tough set of parameters. Now, here's a few rules: (for the full rules see

HERE

)

  1. The competition is open to all citizens of the ESA Member States (sorry US and Canada folks, you're out of luck on this one.)

  2. The proposals have to arrive in the [email protected] mailbox the latest by 18:00 CEST, 15 October 2008.

  3. The proposal should be maximum of one page, with 12 pt single spacing

  4. The name should be a word (or a short combination of words), not a personal name (unless it is a mythological name which has a commonly known symbolic meaning).

Again, here's the

full rules

. Have fun and go for it!

Source:

ESA

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com