Martian maps are filled with a variety of nicknames given by Mars scientists and mission teams. NASA. These nicknames are used to recognize places on Earth, famous explorers and cartoon characters.
For example, the rover perseverance is currently investigating the rocks along the crater rim Belva in Mars. Meanwhile, the rover Curiosity recently drilled a sample in a location called “Ubajara”, which is identified by a specific nickname.
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These nicknames are a handy way to identify different features and locations on the surface of Mars. They help mission staff refer to specific locations in a more informal way.
In addition to craters and hills, these nicknames are applied to every boulder, pebble, and rocky surface that is considered by NASA missions. This helps create a kind of language of their own for the teams involved in missions to Mars.
Ashwin Vasavada, mission design scientist Curiosity, explained that the main reason for choosing all these names is to help the team keep track of what they are discovering on Mars on a daily basis.
These names help identify and refer to different hills, rocks and other features found on the red planet. As the team discusses and documents their findings, these names become useful for referring to specific locations, decreasing the chances of confusion.
The difference between an official name on Mars and an unofficial one lies in approval by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). The IAU is responsible for establishing standards and guidelines for naming planetary features throughout the Solar System, including Mars.
Official names are registered in the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, a database maintained by the IAU. IAU approval ensures international standardization in nomenclature and facilitates communication between scientists and understanding of Martian features.
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