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| The Rolling Stones with Robert Downey Jr. at Rose Bowl Stadium |
The team behind NASA's InSight lander has named a Martian rock after The Rolling Stones.
A division of Caltech, The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which manages InSight for NASA, has announced the boulder is now known as “Rolling Stones Rock.”
InSight’s retrorockets sent the rock rolling about 3 feet (1 meter) as the spacecraft touched down on Mars on November 26, 2018. It's the farthest NASA has seen a rock roll after landing a spacecraft on another planet. A little larger than a golf ball, the rock is about 2.2 inches (5.5 centimeters) in diameter and 1 inch (2.4 centimeters) in height; a series of divots marked its course after being set in motion by the landing.
Before the band’s August 22 show at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, CA, actor Robert Downey Jr. shared the news with fans from the stage.
"The name Rolling Stones Rock is a perfect fit," said Lori Glaze, director of NASA's Planetary Science Division in Washington. "Part of NASA's charter is to share our work with different audiences. When we found out the Stones would be in Pasadena, honoring them seemed like a fun way to reach fans all over the world."
NASA is streaming an animated video of the Rolling Stones Rock news as well as footage of Downey’s announcement at Rose Bowl Stadium.
"What a wonderful way to celebrate the 'Stones No Filter' tour arriving in Pasadena,” says the band. “This is definitely a milestone in our long and eventful history. A huge thank you to everyone at NASA for making it happen."
The Rolling Stones will wrap up their summer North American series in Miami, FL on August 31.
See also:
VIDEO: The Rolling Stones perform rare 1978 classic by request in Seattle
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VIDEO: The Rolling Stones perform Harlem Shuffle for first time in three decades
VIDEO: The Rolling Stones perform 1967 rarity in New Jersey
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