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What’s in a Name?

What does your name mean to you?

One of the most important things a person owns is his/her name. A name is the given name in combination with the surname (family name) for example John Smith or Jane Doe.

How did your parents choose your name?

• Maybe you were named after one of your grandparents or an aunt or uncle.

• What might have been important for your parents was the cultural, religious, ethnic background your name evoked.

• Perhaps, your name was one they had always dreamed of, or maybe they thought this was the perfect name for you and no other would be as special.

No matter how you got your name, this is something that will always belong only to you.

Write a one-pager on how you got your name.

Names are also important for other things. Aside from people what kind of things can be named? Can you make a list of things that could have names?

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If you were to look up into the night sky, you would see the Moon, the stars and maybe even some planets. These are all objects that have names. For example, the planets’ names were mostly taken from Roman mythology.

In Roman mythology, Venus was the goddess of love and beauty. The planet was named Venus because it is the brightest of the planets.

As you may know, Jupiter is the largest and most massive of all the planets of our solar system. Jupiter (also known as Jove) was the King of all the gods; it is only fitting that such a dominant planet should hold this name.

Finally, the planet Pluto is named after the god of the underworld. It probably received this name because it is so far away from the Sun that it is in perpetual darkness.

Natural objects, like planets, are not the only things we find in space. Since humans found a way of launching objects into orbit in the 1950’s, we have been sending up satellites, rockets and space shuttles into space. The first man-made object to reach the upper atmosphere and remain in the Earth’s orbit was Sputnik, a Russian satellite named after the Russian word for "traveller".

Canada soon followed Russia and the United States to space when it became the third country to design and build its own artificial Earth satellite. The Alouette story was particularly significant in the history of Canada in space. Launched on September 29, 1962, the Alouette-I scientific satellite marked Canada’s entry into the space age.

The word "alouette" is French for lark. The lark is a North American bird mainly found on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Alouette is also the title to a very popular French-Canadian folkloric song. Dr. Hartley Zimmerman, chairman of the Defence Research Board, suggested the name Alouette for this first Canadian satellite.

After the successful launch of Alouette-1, Canadians undertook even more ambitious projects. By the early 1970’s the development of the first domestic communications satellite was almost complete. In order to find a name for this new Canadian innovation that would bring Canadians closer together by providing a means for Canadians to communicate with each other from coast to coast, a nation-wide competition was held to name the new satellite. This competition attracted thousands of suggestions; finally the name chosen for what would become a series of communication satellites was Anik which means "brother" in the Inuit language. This name was chosen because it is one that symbolises a commitment to help Canadians better communicate with one another.

Just as finding the perfect name for a child can be difficult, so can the naming of space technologies. This may be why some of these technologies are known by their acronym instead. An acronym is the abbreviation of a word or group of words. For example, ISIS (pronounced "iceis") is the acronym for the International Satellites for Ionospheric Studies program. The initial letters of each keyword were taken and regrouped so that they could be read or spoken as a single word, ISIS. Using an acronym to name a satellite or project gives the term a definite meaning without having a lengthy explanation attached to it.

Try to find the acronyms for these Canadian projects.

1. Optical Spectograph and Infra-Red Imaging System

__________ OSIRIS

2. Measurements of Pollution in the Troposphere

__________ MOPITT

3. Middle Atmosphere Nitrogen TRend Assessment

__________ MANTRA

4. Auroral Composition and Toroidal Ion Velocity Experiment

__________ ACTIVE

5. Mobile Servicing System

__________ MSS

Canada has been involved in space exploration for nearly four decades. Twenty years ago, Canada reached out into space with something much different than a satellite or a scientific research experiment.

The SRMS (acronym for Shuttle Remote Manipulator System) is a Canadian-built robot arm attached to the space shuttle. This slender, jointed arm with the Canada wordmark tattooed on its side has been the most recognised symbol of Canadian technological development since its first trip to space during the second flight of the Shuttle Columbia in November 1981. The SRMS was renamed Canadarm by the president of the National Research Council of Canada when he presented it to NASA.

As this new millennium commences, a new Canadian robotic arm is born. After many years of development, this next generation robotic arm, the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (also known as the SSRMS) is finally ready to be launched to its new home on the International Space Station.

Just as Canadarm has evoked pride among Canadians throughout the decades, so will this newest member of the Canadian space robotic technology family. The SSRMS was renamed Canadarm2 after its "grand-father" the Canadarm, just as you might have been named after one of your ancestors.

Canadarm2 will be a crucial element to the International Space Station. Without it the Space Station could not be built. The Canadarm — the most widely recognised piece of Canadian technology — and Canadarm2 — Canada’s new state-of-the-art robotic technology — will work together in space. When Canadarm2 takes its first step out onto the Station, the world will see first hand the robotic evolution that has made Canada a world leader in space robotics.