"Resolution" Honors Captain Cook's Exploration Ship
NASA and Challenger Center for Space Science Education have
selected the winner of the Antarctic habitat naming contest. The
name "Resolution" took top honors in the "Name that Habitat"
competition.
The winning name was submitted by 9th grade students at Holy
Cross High School in Delran, NJ.
The exploration vessel Resolution was the first ship to cross
the Antarctic Circle in January 1773 and was under the command of
Captain James Cook. Holy Cross students said the new habitat
represents an advance in technology, much as Cook's ship did. The
students also pointed out that the word "resolution" aptly
describes America's intent to explore space.
The contest, which began in the fall of 2008, gave students in
the sixth through tenth grades the opportunity to submit entries to
name an inflatable habitat designed to serve as a trailblazer for
new construction methods on Earth and other worlds. NASA unveiled
the inflatable habitat in November 2007. It is scheduled to be
disassembled and returned to the United States later this
month.
The development and deployment of the habitat was funded through
NASA's Innovative Partnership Program's Seed Fund initiative, with
in-kind resource contributions by the National Science Foundation
and ILC Dover of Frederica, DE, the manufacturer of the
structure.
The "Name that Habitat" contest was conducted through a Space
Act Agreement between NASA and Challenger Center for Space Science
Education. It continues NASA's tradition of investing in the
nation's education programs and is directly tied to the agency's
education goal of engaging Americans in NASA's mission. NASA is
committed to building strategic partnerships and links between
science, technology, engineering and mathematics education
providers. Through hands-on, interactive educational activities,
NASA is engaging students, educators, families, the public and
agency stakeholders to increase Americans' science and technology
literacy.
Challenger Center for Space Science Education is an
international, nonprofit educational organization founded in 1986
by the families of the astronauts lost during the final flight of
the space shuttle Challenger 51-L. The goal of the organization is
to foster student interest in careers in science, technology,
engineering and mathematics.