First it was 6th grader Clara Ma who named the Mars robotic rover "Curiosity." Now an entire 4th-grade class has named NASA's new lunar satellites "Ebb" and "Flow."
The class from Bozeman, Montana won a nationwide contest to name the twin spacecraft, which are part of the Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission. GRAIL will create the most accurate gravitational map of the Moon ever made, providing details about the Moon's internal structure and composition. These discoveries will expand what we know about how Earth and its rocky neighbors in the inner solar system developed into the diverse worlds we see today.
The washing machine size satellites also serve as eyes on the Moon for Earth's students, through MoonKAM, which gives students the chance to take pictures of the Moon.
In the winning name essay, Emily Dickinson Elementary 4th graders wrote, "We have been studying the Solar System and learning about the Sun, Planets, and the Moon. We think Ebb and Flow (or Flood) are good names...because the Moon's gravity is the reason we have high tides and low tides. We thought it would be good to have names that represent something very important about the moon and what it causes to happen on Earth. [The satellites] are on a journey just like the Moon is on a journey around Earth."
With SMILE activities like Build a Satellite to Orbit the Moon, Observing the Moon, Paint by the Numbers, and Investigating Ice Worlds, you can get learners of all ages—anywhere on Earth—thinking about how scientists observe the Moon.