{"id":2447915,"date":"2019-08-23T07:08:51","date_gmt":"2019-08-23T13:08:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/?p=875612"},"modified":"2019-08-23T07:08:51","modified_gmt":"2019-08-23T13:08:51","slug":"nasa-names-rolling-stone-on-mars-after-rolling-stones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/music-news\/nasa-names-rolling-stone-on-mars-after-rolling-stones\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA Names Rolling Stone on Mars After Rolling Stones"},"content":{"rendered":"
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NASA<\/a> has named a small rock on Mars after the Rolling Stones<\/a>, which will appear on working, informal maps of the Red Planet.<\/p>\n

\u201cRolling Stones Rock\u201d was unveiled during the Stones\u2019 concert in Pasadena, California Thursday night, with Robert Downey, Jr. on hand to make the announcement. As the actor explained, the name came after a team of scientists at NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory noticed that a small rock, just a bit larger than a golf ball, had been propelled about three feet by the thrusters of the Mars InSight lander as it touched down last November.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd some scientists,\u201d Downey Jr. quipped, \u201cin a fit of fandom and<\/em> clever association, they put forth, \u2018Why don\u2019t we name it, Rolling Stones Rock?’\u201d<\/p>\n

NASA also shared a visual recreation of the rock\u2019s historic tumble, which, per a press release, is \u201cthe farthest NASA has seen a rock roll while landing a spacecraft on another planet.\u201d The clip is fittingly set to \u201cIt\u2019s Only Rock and Roll (But I Like It)\u201d and ends with an actual photo of \u201cRolling Stones Rock.\u201d<\/p>\n