Mission Control is please to announce the winner of the Marsville Small Planet Contest. Dave Balam, an NRC visiting worker and asteroid hunter, was the head judge for the contest and has selected the grand prize winner.

Dave says:

“In this age of robotic telescope surveys and large format detectors we sometime forget about the lone astronomer and the quest for discovery.Decades of service have not dulled that incredible sense of discovery, beauty and wonderment when a new object is found.

It is with this same sense of discovery that I have read the composition of the winner of the International Year of Astronomy and National Research Council of Canada’s Marsville Small Planet Contest. During the International Year of Astronomy the name of our contest winner will be submitted to the International Astronomical Union as the official name of one of my minor planet discoveries of the past 20 years and that planet shall bear that name forevermore. I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of the nearly 300 students who participated in the contest. It was a distinct pleasure to read every essay and the experience has left me with a deep sense of optimism for the future of Canada as our future depends upon people like you.”

…and the winner is…Sarah Ireland
Mennville Christian School
Riverton, MB

 My Galileo Moment in History 

I traveled to Mars and what did I see?
A thousand shiny stars sparkling down at me.
Through my telescope, the sky seems close.
I’ve reached my goal, what I wanted most.
I see Earth, I see Jupiter, and I see a star.
From where I stand, they seem so far.
The dirt is soft, yet hard somehow.
I can’t believe I’m on Mars. I can’t believe it here and now.
No one believed me. They said it couldn’t be done;
But now I’ll have a story to tell my grandson.
So now I say goodbye homeland.
I could not leave a place so grand.
I’ll plant my flag here,I’ll see it fly and shed a tear.
I’m on Mars!Nestled here among the stars. 

It is with great pleasure that NRC announces the “Marsville Small Planet Contest 2009”. Courtesy of astronomer (and asteroid hunter) Dave Balam, NRC’s Canadian National Marville Program is thrilled to offer this unique competition to our participating students from across Canada. The prize is simple - the winner will have a small planet named after them!

Download this flyer to find out more: iya-contest_e.pdf

On March 16, CSA President Steve MacLean introduced the top 16 candidates in the Agency’s National Astronaut Recruitment Campaign.

Visit the CSA website to find out more about these extraordinary individuals:  http://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/astronauts/recruitment/biographies.asp