Scroll down to read this post.

 

Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. I keep the website clean from pop-ups and annoying demands. Instead, I depend entirely on my readers to support me. Though this means I am sacrificing some income, it also means that I remain entirely independent from outside pressure. By depending solely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, no one can threaten me with censorship. You don't like what I write, you can simply go elsewhere.

 

You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are five ways of doing so:

 

1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.

 

2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
 

3. A Paypal Donation:

4. A Paypal subscription:


5. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
 
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652

 

You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above. And if you buy the books through the ebookit links, I get a larger cut and I get it sooner.


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 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?)

Readers: the rules for commenting!

 

No registration is required. I welcome all opinions, even those that strongly criticize my commentary.

 

However, name-calling and obscenities will not be tolerated. First time offenders who are new to the site will be warned. Second time offenders or first time offenders who have been here awhile will be suspended for a week. After that, I will ban you. Period.

 

Note also that first time commenters as well as any comment with more than one link will be placed in moderation for my approval. Be patient, I will get to it.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *