back to article No joy for all you Rover McRoverface fans: NASA's next Mars bot is christened Perseverance

NASA’s latest Martian rover, due to launch in July and being assembled right now, finally has a name: Perseverance. The moniker was chosen by Alexander Mather, a seventh-grade student – that's Year 8 in England and Wales, or 11 to 13 years old, depending on where you are – at Braddock Secondary School in Virginia. Mather, who …

  1. elkster88
    Coat

    Ok then...

    So Perseverance McPerseveranceface it is.

    1. Little Mouse

      Re: Ok then...

      I guess I'm too late (and too British) to nominate Coxy McCockface? (After the celebrity mop-topped particle physicist & Infinite Monkey Cage presenter, of course)

      1. This post has been deleted by its author

    2. Psmo
      Mushroom

      Re: Ok then...

      Better than Crater McOopsface

      1. Gordon 10

        Re: Ok then...

        Schiaparelli McSmashface

        Beagley McSmashynopejustcouldntphonehomeface.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Joke

          Re: Ok then...

          Lord Percy for it will discover ... purest green!

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Ok then...

      > So Perseverance McPerseveranceface it is.

      Percy per Severance-face ?

  2. ArrZarr Silver badge
    Happy

    Officially

    The name is probably intended to look like they're noting the long hours and hard work that is required for exploration.

    In reality, it's probably talking about the perseverance of dealing with changing governments from Term to Term always changing the goalposts.

    1. Flocke Kroes Silver badge

      Re: Officially

      Or because aberrance, avoidance and dalliance would never get there, pittance did not have enough budget, someone had called dips on vengence and resistance was useless.

      1. Twanky
        Angel

        Re: Officially

        Da, da, da, daaah...

        :

        :

        :

        Nah!

        icon: Closest to DNA.

      2. Jens Tingleff
        Thumb Up

        Re: Officially

        Bravo (or Brava, as the case may be)!

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Go

      Re: Officially

      Officially the name was chosen based on suggestions and essays by school children. The winner chose Perseverance to honor a human trait in the spirit of the rover Curiosity.

  3. adam 40 Silver badge

    Per-severance

    If Perseverance doesn't jinx it, nothing will!

  4. Dr_N
    Terminator

    Call Me Percy?

    I bet it gets bullied by all the other rovers.

  5. Chris G

    Lunar colonials

    Not by 2028 there won't be!

    With huuuge amount of luck and support from the administration, there may be an occasionally manned station.

    Colony implies a settlement that plan to be self supporting, that can only be considered after lengthy on the spot research and exploration to determine whether or not self sufficiency is even possible.

  6. 0laf

    Needs two names

    They need to do it like pedigree dogs.

    Pedigree name + pet name

    So

    Perserverence + Bert/Bob/Dave/Spot etc

    1. OssianScotland

      Re: Needs two names

      Obviously (Rowan Atkinson accent...) "Bob" then

      1. Spherical Cow Silver badge

        Re: Needs two names

        Everyone will call it Kate for short.

  7. VibhorTyagi

    Perseverence Devs Engineer AI To Perfection

    It never ceases to amaze me how much we misjudge the size of these rovers. It's almost as big as an adult human. As opposed to the previous rovers, Perseverance boasts some of the latest modules that space agencies have come up with in the past few years. They have also managed to engineer ai, so that it gives them a clear idea of landing impact, formulate weather patterns, geological conditions, and biochemical testing.

    1. 0laf

      Re: Perseverence Devs Engineer AI To Perfection

      Curiosity is usually described as a Nuclear Tank by El Reg hacks becasue it's really quite big.

      Even the previous rovers Spirit and Opportunity which are normally thought of as being small and cute were actually pretty big, like a couple of dinner tables strapped together.

      1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

        Re: Perseverence Devs Engineer AI To Perfection

        African or European dinner tables?

        1. imanidiot Silver badge

          Re: Perseverence Devs Engineer AI To Perfection

          Laden or unladen?

        2. HelpfulJohn

          Re: Perseverence Devs Engineer AI To Perfection

          Wasn't them rovers USAlien? So, USAlien tables. That makes them about fifty square metres in real money if tables for one, larger if tables for a party.

          We must really get a standard measuring rod for these things. Something all countries can agree on, like, perhaps a "Systeme Internationale" or something. It would be ever so handy.

          1. OssianScotland

            Re: Perseverence Devs Engineer AI To Perfection

            Conveniently, El Reg provides such a set of standards already.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Faith, Hope ...

    and Charity ?

  9. Richard Scratcher
    Paris Hilton

    Marathon Mission

    They should have named it Snickers - after the favourite horse of the Mars family.

  10. Frumious Bandersnatch

    "per-severance" as in ...

    "in accordance with cutting off" (persnickity nominative determinists) to spite their Facey McFace Face?

  11. CrazyOldCatMan Silver badge

    Alex and his classmates are the Artemis Generation..

    .. the what now?

    Does that bit of pretentious flummery mean that they are expert and chaste hunters? I suspect not.

    1. A. Coatsworth Silver badge
      Trollface

      Re: Alex and his classmates are the Artemis Generation..

      That's a weird sentence when taken out of context, and the clarification that appears near the bottom of the note only raises more questions:

      Artemis is NASA’s grand plan to send the first woman and next man to the surface of the Moon by 2024

      … so Nasa intends to send teenagers to the Moon... "Selenite Blue Lagoon" in theaters near you, Autum 2024!

  12. Ugotta B. Kiddingme
    Joke

    "...and its own helicopter to beam back images of the Martian terrain."

    which will promptly be grounded when the FAA rules that Mars is protected airspace.

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