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Naming Names
When Steve and his team talked about what the rovers saw around
them on Mars, they couldn’t just say “that crater” or “this rock” or

“those hills.” It would be too confusing. The International Astronomical
Union (IAU) is responsible for naming land features on planets other
than Earth. But the team had to discuss what the rovers should do
daily, so they couldn’t wait. Jim Rice, a geologist at Arizona State
University and a rover science-team member, suggested that features
studied on the mission be temporarily named according to themes.
“OK,” Steve said. “You’re in charge.”
The team decided to name craters near Spirit’s landing site after
lakes on Earth (Bonneville, for instance). Craters near Opportunity’s
landing site would be named after famous ships of exploration, hence
Eagle (the Apollo 11 lunar lander) and Endurance (after Ernest

Shackleton’s Antarctic expedition). The Columbia Hills were named
after the space shuttle Columbia, and each of the seven peaks were
named after the lost Columbia astronauts.
But there were so many features to name that soon the rules fell
apart. Basically whoever started studying a rock or hill or crater got to
name it. So there are place names (Adirondack and Stone Mountain),
people names (Burns Cliff and Larry’s Leap), and even foods (Mudpie,
Chocolate Chip, and Cookies and Cream). “Whenever explorers go
somewhere, we always want to name things,” says Jim Rice. “It’s just
something we humans like to do.”

international Something that is international is shared or worked on by multiple
countries.

Adirondack, Spirit’s first target rock, selected because its
dust-free, flat surface was perfect for grinding. Spirit
traversed the sandy Martian terrain at Gusev Crater to arrive
in front of the football-size rock just three days after the rover
successfully rolled off the lander. Scientists named the angular
rock after the Adirondack mountain range in New York.

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