Polls have opened on the final naming of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover. The non-binding poll to help NASA select a name opened on Monday will stay open until Sunday Mar. 29.

NASA/JPL-Caltech

The names, submitted by students from across the USA are:

• Journey
• Amelia
• Adventure
• Vision
• Pursuit
• Sunrise
• Wonder
• Perception
• Curiosity

NASA will select the winning name, based on a student's essay and the poll. NASA will announce the wining name in late April or early May 2009.

The MSL will launch in 2011 and touch down on Mars in 2012. It is part of the Mars Exploration Program, a series of expeditions to Mars with the four main goals of:

• Determining whether life ever arose on Mars
• Characterizing the climate of Mars
• Characterizing the geology of Mars
• Preparing for human exploration

The MSL will continue the work of the highly successful Spirit and Opportunity rovers and Mars Polar Lander Missions.

If you like, you can send your name to the surface of Mars. Enter your name here and it will be loaded onto a microchip that will travel to Mars as part of the MSL rover.

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