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Athabasca, Courage, Glacier or Pol-R? Canadian Space Agency seeks name for moon rover

LONGUEUIL, Que. — Canada's new lunar rover will head to the moon when it's built, but first it needs a name. The Canadian Space Agency has begun polling the public on four possible choices: Athabasca, Courage, Glacier or Pol-R.
Canadian Press
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tries to see if the remote controlled lunar rover being tested out by NASA astronaut Victor Glover, centre, will run over his foot or stop automatically, as he meets with the crew of the Artemis II, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, third from left, and NASA astronauts Glover, Christina Hammock Koch and Reid Wiseman, at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa, Tuesday, April 25, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

LONGUEUIL, Que. — Canada's new lunar rover will head to the moon when it's built, but first it needs a name.

The Canadian Space Agency has begun polling the public on four possible choices: Athabasca, Courage, Glacier or Pol-R.

The rover, still in development, will be the first Canadian craft to explore the moon's surface, with a launch scheduled for 2026 at the earliest.

It is expected to explore the lunar south pole, and among its tasks will be searching search for water ice, a key to the future of human space exploration of the moon.

Online voting starts today and continues until Dec. 20, and the agency is not providing an option for write-in votes.

The agency says it wants the name to be representative of the mission or to allude to Canada's role in space.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 20, 2024.

A link to vote for the rover name is at https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/news/articles/2024/2024-11-20-what-should-we-call-the-first-canadian-rover-on-the-moon.asp

The Canadian Press