NASA gives Mars rocks Cypriot dialect names
Two rocks on Mars have been named by NASA with words from the Cypriot dialect. This is the first time NASA adopts words from the Cypriot dialect to name objects on the red planet said 33-year-old Cypriot scientist Dr Konstantinos Charalambous, who is working on NASA's InSight mission.
Charalambous was given the opportunity to choose words in the Cypriot dialect in order to name two rocks that are located near the InSight probe. He had sent NASA a number of suggestions together with explanations regarding the meaning of the words and NASA took the final decision.
"So, somewhere there on the planet Mars there is a small piece of our Cyprus," said Charalambous.
''From now on, the topographical list of InSight includes the names "Zavos" which loosely translates to as tilted/not straight, and "Mutti" meaning peak, the highest point or nose.
These rocks are adjacent to the stationary InSight lander and they will be documented and analyzed by scientific articles and academic conferences said Charalambous who holds a Phd in Planetary Sciences from Imperial College in London. [Kathimerini Cyprus]
