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NASA stated on Tuesday, November 18, 2008 that it is “…looking for the right stuff, or in this case, the right name for the next Mars rover.” [NASA: “NASA invites students to name new Mars rover”]
The U.S. space agency is enlisting the help of WALL-E, which was created in the Pixar Animation Studios for the Walt Disney Studios motion picture of the same name: “WALL-E.”
In twenty-second century Earth, the planet has gotten so polluted that WALL-E robots were created to clean up the planet while all humans take a five-year vacation out in space.
WALL-E is short for Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-class.
However, to make the storyline interesting, something goes wrong and WALL-E must contend with being the only unit left to clean up trash on Earth.
To top it off, he falls in love with a highly advanced female robot called EVE who is only interested in fulfilling her mission: to find plant life on Earth.
So, while WALL-E cleans up Earth, NASA is looking for another nifty name for its new car-sized robot that is scheduled to explore the surface of Mars in 2010.
Check out a picture of the new NASA Mars robot at “Mars science laboratory rover.”
Page two contains the website for information and the application form to enter the NASA robot-naming contest.
