The U.K. Space Agency launched a contest Friday to name the ExoMars rover it is developing for a planned 2020 voyage.
The voyage will be conducted by the European Space Agency, and the six-wheeled rover is one of the United Kingdom’s contributions to that effort.
The rover is currently named ExoMars, but the agency would like to find something catchier.
To avoid the rover being named Boaty McBoatface, a name the public wanted to attach to a polar research vessel (it was instead named the RRS Sir David Attenborough), entrants will have to type in their suggestions, Sky News reported.
"Mars is a fascinating destination,” said British astronaut Tim Peake, who announced the start of the competition, Sky News reported. "A place where humans will one day work alongside robots to gather new knowledge and search for life in our solar system. The ExoMars rover is a vital part of this journey of exploration and we're asking you to become part of this exciting mission and name the rover that will scout the Martian surface."
The U.K. is the second-largest contributor to the project, having invested £14 million ($18.39 million) on instrumentation and £256 million ($336.24 million) on the rover itself.
The winner of the name competition will have the chance to bring three guests to a private tour of the facility in which the rover is being developed.
The rover is an unmanned robotic vehicle that will be tasked with searching for signs of life — past or present — on the red planet.
"Exploring the surface of another planet is what many scientists and researchers dream of and now a British-built rover will travel the surface of Mars to answer some fundamental questions, and the public can be part of this exciting new chapter by naming the rover,” Science Minister Sam Gyimah said, Sky News reported.
"We want creative and bold entries,” he added. “I'll start the ball rolling with Rover McRoverface!”
Suggestions began pouring into Twitter.
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