Out of this world as rock on red planet named after Maybole
Residents over the moon as NASA find spot on MARS
A town is out of this world after it was confirmed a spot on MARS is named after it.
Maybole has been given its place on the red planet with a strip of rock “benches” named after the South Ayrshire town.
The Post has gone where no newspaper has before to reveal that Maybole is one of many locations named by scientists after Scottish towns.
NASA has confirmed that Maybole is one of the first series of rock “benches” discovered by their Mars team last year.
Their space mission involves searching the planet with landmarks named after places back on Earth.
Maybole was stumbled upon by their Curiosity Rover vehicle on its 2,946th sol, with one sol a day on Mars, in November 2020.
The martian motor has been powering through the planet since 2011 and has also identified a clay-barring region which shares its name with Glen Torridon of the Highlands, with highland mountain Glen Etive also a name used.
Locals have been thrilled to see their town claim its spot on Mars.
David Kiltie, 76, told the Post: “I think it is absolutely fantastic that we have our town Maybole the ancient capital of Carrick, perpetuated on Mars.
“People have always said Maybole is the centre of the universe so it is no surprise there’s another form of it out there.
“I’m sure Maybole on Mars gets a wee bit more sun than we are used to here.
“I’m delighted that the Ayrshire Post has managed to go where no newspaper has gone before and get it confirmed.
“It will surely interest some of the local primary schools to learn more about the Rover missions and the outcrop that has been named after our home.”
A spokesperson for NASA told the Post: “The scientists and engineers on the rover missions need to have common names for all the features they see on Mars.
“That allows them to know they’re talking about the same things when they want to drive toward a landmark, or take data from a precise target. Because there are so many features, it’s convenient to have a long list of names to pull from.
“So, as they approach new areas, the team pulls names of real places of geological interest here on Earth. In the Glen Torridon region, which we’re departing, they picked names from Scotland. That included a lot of town names like Maybole.
“Maybole was the first of a series of rock “benches” that the team investigated.”
People have always said Maybole is at the centre of the universe so it is no surprise there is another form out there