Alberta town’s residents hope to share name with lunar rover

The Canadian Space Agency is seeking a moniker for the four-wheeled, one-metre-tall robot set to scour for water and other resources on the moon -- and is putting it to a vote.

Residents of a northern Alberta town are over the moon that it could share its name with the first Canadian rover set to explore the dark, cold terrain of Earth’s closest celestial neighbour.

The Canadian Space Agency is seeking a moniker for the four-wheeled, one-metre-tall robot set to scour for water and other resources on the moon — and is putting it to a vote.

Athabasca joins Courage, Glacier and Pol-R on the short list of names from which Canadians of all ages can choose.

Athabasca refers to the river that begins at the Columbia Icefield in Jasper National Park. Along its 1,200-kilometre journey to Lake Athabasca in northern Alberta and Saskatchewan, the river passes through the town of Athabasca, 145 kilometres north of Edmonton.

The town’s mayor says the potential rover name is drawn from the river and not his community, but the list has created “quite the buzz” among its nearly 3,000 residents since it was released last week.

Robert Balay says with a laugh that he broke the agency’s rule of one vote per person and cast two ballots to name the rover Athabasca — “once from my personal email and once from my work email.”

He says the river is the town’s main attraction and it’s a cool surprise to think the rover could represent it from far, far away.

Balay says those in the town have been encouraging one another to vote before the online poll closes Dec. 20.