- Target:
- IAU (International Astronomical Union)
- Region:
- United States of America
The Magellan spacecraft used Imaging Radar to produce a global map of Venus in the 1990's. This was the first time that an Earth-sized Alien planet was mapped completely. Since there are no oceans on Venus, the map shows details for an area 4 times greater than Earth's continental land mass.
Previous historic spacecraft have been honored by the IAU (International Astronomical Union) with names assigned to planets. These include the Apollo basin on the Moon's Far Side, Mariner Valley on Mars, the Galileo Region on Ganymede and the Sputnik Plain on Pluto. The Magellan project deserves such an honor.
The Magellan mission was made possible by a dedicated team of people. A feature on Venus, named after this project, would remind our descendants of the achievements of this remarkable team. They overcame many difficulties to build and fly this vehicle. It was a modern Corps of Discovery. It should not be forgotten.
We, the undersigned, believe that a geographic feature on Venus should be named "Magellan."
This would honor the team that overcame many difficulties to place this Radar Mapper in orbit around that planet.
The Magellan spacecraft produced the first global map of an Earth-sized planet.
We call on the IAU (International Astronomical Union) to recognize the Magellan project by assigning that name to a major feature on Venus.
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The Magellan on Venus petition to IAU (International Astronomical Union) was written by Philip Horzempa and is in the category Science & Technology at GoPetition.