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I was selected along with other NASA staffers to help choose the name of the 2020 Mars rover. The winning name was pitched by a Virginia middle school student. NASA held a "Name the Rover" essay contest and volunteer judges narrowed the entries to 115 semi-finalists, then just 9 finalists. We had a chance to speak one-on-one with the entrants and ultimately selected Perseverance—a submission from 13-year-old Alexander Mather—as the name of the 2020 rover. Interested in learni

NASA and JPL's latest collaboration with Google allows everyone to see Mars through the Curiosity rover's "eyes". Google has created a virtual reality experience, adapted from JPL's OnSight planning software, to let anyone see Mars from the comfort of their home. You can use a computer or a VR headset to try the experience for yourself at AccessMars.WithGoogle.com . You can see real photos taken by the rover and discover sites of scientific interest found by NASA scientists.