Huh. Anyway, the design of the rover or who's going to be making it isn't known yet, but we've got this nice publicity event about deciding what it's going to be called. Voting is now open on the shortlisted submissions, which are:
- Coolamon
Capturing the essence of our Indigenous heritage and connection to the land, a coolamon is a multi-purpose, sustainable tool used for gathering and carrying. It symbolises the balance between utility and respect for the environment, mirroring our approach to space exploration.
- Kakirra
Translated from the Kaurna region in Adelaide, Kakirra means 'Moon'... and is a tribute to the history of Australia, just as the rover is about the future of this country. The rover is very important to lunar expeditions and is a big step for Australia.
- Mateship
From the spirit of the Anzacs, to your mate at the local footy club, it's a crucial part of Australian culture. Whether you're young or old, live in the city or in the outback, we all possess this indescribable trait. Let's say 'G'Day Mate' to new horizons and the lunar surface.
- Roo-ver
Our lunar rover deserves to be named after something iconically Australian, reflecting the Aussie spirit as we launch into this new endeavour. A kangaroo is part of the Australian Coat of Arms and it's time for Australian science to take the next leap all the way up into space.
Voting is just an online form; it doesn't say you have to be an Australian resident to vote, just to enter the competition for naming it, and that's already passed. Go ahead and influence it I guess!
my thoughts on the names:
Mateship would be a good name for a Mars rover, considering the theme establisted by Opportunity, Perseverance etc. I wouldn't mind importing the theme, but "mateship" is not a quality you'd expect a lunar rover to have? Aside from the fact that it's a particularly Australian word it doesn't make a lot of sense to me. I'm going to be honest, I think the copy written for this one is a bit cringe and it's not helped by the fact that the advertising campaign for this Australian Moon trip thing is called "G'Day Moon".
Coolamon is great thematically for a rover that's going to be collecting lunar soil, and using a word from an Aboriginal language seems nice. Coolamon is already the name of a place so this is unfortunately a name collision.
Kakirra is a really fun word, it's not the name of anything else, and it's another Aboriginal name, but... can we really just name it Moon? I feel like that shouldn't be allowed. Somebody should stop us. It would be funny if we did it anyway.
Roo-ver would be kind of funny but. please no