ESA wants help in naming ISS mission

PARIS, June 11 (UPI) -- Europeans are being given the opportunity to suggest a name for astronaut Christer Fuglesang's mission to the International Space Station.

The European Space Agency said Fuglesang will join the 11-day STS-128 mission scheduled for launch by the U.S. space agency on Aug. 6. The flight aboard the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's space shuttle Discovery will be Fuglesang's second spaceflight after his 13-day Celsius mission to the ISS with STS-116 in December 2006.

"The overwhelming response to previous competitions to name ESA missions, from people of all ages and from all European countries, shows how attractive and inspiring human spaceflight is for many Europeans," Piero Messina, head of the ESA's Coordination Office. "We are looking forward once more to receiving many enthusiastic proposals."

The competition is open to all citizens and residents of ESA member states: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

The winning name will become the official European name of Fuglesang's mission and the winner will receive a frame with the mission logo signed by European astronauts.

More competition information is available at http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEM6KEQORVF_index_2.html.