Mars 2020 rover has been given the fitting name "Perseverance"!

NASA's Mars 2020 rover has been named - Perseverance.

The name was chosen in the tradition of other Mars rovers by the "Name the Rover" essay contest. The winning entry by a student named Alexander Mather of Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke, Virginia, was chosen out of a field of 28,000 entries!

Matherer's essay might make you tear up when you consider the predicament humanity finds itself in currently with corona virus. He writes, “Curiosity, Insight, Spirit, Opportunity. If you think about it, all of these names of past Mars rovers are qualities we possess as humans. We’re always curious and seek opportunity. We have the spirit and insight to explore the moon, Mars and beyond.

“But if rovers are to be the qualities of us as a race, we miss the most important thing: Perseverance. We as humans evolved as creatures who could learn to adapt to any situation, no matter how harsh. We are a species of explorers, and we will meet many setbacks on the way to Mars. However, we can persevere. We, not as a nation, but as humans will not give up. The human race will always persevere into the future.”

"Alex’s entry captured the spirit of exploration,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of the Science Mission Directorate. “Like every exploration mission before, our rover is going to face challenges, and it’s going to make amazing discoveries. It’s already surmounted many obstacles to get us to the point where we are today – processing for launch. Alex and his classmates are the Artemis Generation, and they’re going to be taking the next steps into space that lead to Mars. That inspiring work will always require perseverance. We can’t wait to see that nameplate on Mars.”

We have a great collection of highly detailed Perseverance Rover Apparel and Gifts if you want to celebrate the launch in July 2020! Don't worry though, they won't go out of style that quick, Perseverance will be digging up new info on Mars for the better part of the decade or longer!