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I am now in the final week of my July fund-raising campaign for Behind the Black, celebrating its 14th anniversary. Thank you all, from the people who have donated small amounts to those who have given large sums. I cannot truly express how much your support means to me.

 

The support of my readers through the years has given me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Four years ago, just before the 2020 election I wrote that Joe Biden's mental health was suspect. Only in the past two weeks has the mainstream media decided to recognize that basic fact.

 

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Nine finalists in Mars 2020 rover naming contest

The nine finalists in the Mars 2020 rover naming contest have been chosen, out of 28,000 entries from schools across the United States.

The nine candidate names were made possible by the “Name the Rover” essay contest, which invited students in kindergarten through 12th grade from across the United States to come up with a fitting name for NASA’s Mars 2020 rover and write a short essay about it.

More than 28,000 essays were submitted after the contest began on Aug. 28 last year. A diverse panel of nearly 4,700 judge volunteers, composed of educators, professionals and space enthusiasts from all around the country, narrowed the pool down to 155 deserving semifinalists from every state and territory in the country.

The public now gets to vote for their favorite, the choices of which are: Endurance, Tenacity, Promise, Perseverance, Vision, Clarity, Ingenuity, Fortitude, Courage. For the next week you can vote here. NASA will then take the poll results into consideration before making its final choice.

My personal favorite is Endurance. Vote for your own.

Genesis cover

On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.

 

The print edition can be purchased at Amazon. Or you can buy it directly from the author and get an autographed copy.

 
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.


The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
 

"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News

8 comments

  • Diane Wilson

    I think Opportunity would vote for Endurance.

  • Jim Davis

    I find it interesting that there are no votes from China. Is China blocking the site?

    There are even votes from Iran.

    Also, Turkey seems to be voting at a brisk pace.

  • sippin_bourbon

    “Wild Irish” failed to make the final list…hmmm.

    So, kinda lean toward Promise.

  • Scott M.

    My vote’s for Endurance as well, due to the connection to Ernest Shackleton

  • Wodun

    It’s rigged, why bother voting?

    Are the elites in the scientific community still upset that boatymcboatface was better than any of the names they could imagine?

    Even when they give a list of approved names, they rig the outcome. This is a symptom of the slide toward totalitarianism we are experiencing right now.

  • Sippin_bourbon

    Rovermcroverface?

  • Jason Lewis

    I still laugh out loud about “Boaty McBoatface.” I see that the voting in this case is merely for consideration. Here are my suggestions:

    MR005: Typical scientist-given name. Mars Rover Number 5. Extra zeros to accommodate a ridiculous number of additional rovers with the same naming convention.

    Stinky: I’d like to hear this repeated on the news

    Gary: Spongebob’s pet snail. The rover is slow, like a snail

    Trump: Would reduce the population of the earth because of the exploding heads. Scoldilocks would approve of that because of the reduction in carbon foot print.

    Shakleton: Famous Antarctic explorer

    Super Tortoise: It’s super slow. There are no copyright issues with this name.

  • hondo

    Hondo works for me – just add a robotic dog named Sam (maybe Japanese?)

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