MAVEN Mars mission haiku selected
The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN, or MAVEN, mission to Mars will carry just over 1,100 haiku, along with thousands of names, on its journey to the red planet. The haiku were part of a contest, sponsored by the 勛圖厙 of Colorado Boulder, asking the public to submit haiku poetry relating to NASAs upcoming MAVEN mission to Mars.
The winners of the contest, coordinated by CU-Boulders Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP), came from across the nation and around the world, including entries from Palestine, India, Australia and Europe. The top five haiku received 1,000 votes or more, and included entries by popular British blogger Benedict Smith and well-known American poet Vanna Bonta.
The spacecraft for NASAs MAVEN mission, which is being led by CU-Boulders LASP, arrived in Florida last week in preparation for a scheduled November launch. The principal investigator for the MAVEN project is CU-Boulder Professor Bruce Jakosky.
The top five winning haiku entries and their authors are below:
Its funny, they named
Mars after the God of War
Have a look at Earth
泭泭泭泭 Benedict Smith
泭泭泭泭 United Kingdom
Thirty-six million
miles of whispering welcome.
Mars, you called us home.
泭泭泭泭 Vanna Bonta
泭泭泭泭 USA
Stars in the blue sky
cheerfully observe the Earth
while we long for them
泭泭泭泭 Luisa Santoro
泭泭泭泭 Italy
distant red planet
the dreams of earth beings flow
we will someday roam
泭泭泭泭 Greg Pruett
泭泭泭泭 Idaho, USA
Mars, your secret is
unknown for humanity
we want to know you.
泭泭泭泭 Fanni Redenczki
泭泭泭泭 Hungary
The contest has resonated with people in ways that I never imagined, said Stephanie Renfrow, MAVEN Education and Public Outreach leader and the Going to Mars campaign leader. Both new and accomplished poets wrote poetry to reflect their views of Earth and Mars, to share their feelings about space exploration, to pay tribute to loved ones who have passed on and to make us laugh with their words.
CU-Boulder also is providing MAVENs science operations, science instruments and leading the Education and Public Outreach program. NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., is managing the project and providing two of the science instruments for the mission. Lockheed Martin of Littleton, Colo., built the spacecraft and is responsible for mission operations. The 勛圖厙 of California, Berkeley, Space Sciences Laboratory is providing science instruments for the mission. NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., is providing navigation support, the Deep Space Network and the Electra telecommunications relay hardware and operations.
For information on other MAVEN haiku contest winners, as well as how you can submit your name to be placed on a DVD that will travel to Mars aboard the MAVEN spacecraft, visit LASPs Going to Mars with MAVEN program at .
For more information on the MAVEN project visit .泭 For updates, photos and more about the MAVEN journey visit CU-Boulders social media collection at . See more at .
Contact:
Stephanie Renfrow, 303-735-5814
Stephanie.Renfrow@lasp.colorado.edu
Jim Scott, CU-Boulder media relations, 303-492-4007
Jim.Scott@colorado.edu
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