2008年12月20日，美国航天局（NASA)发起一场征文比赛，目的是为火星车航天器命名。比赛截止日期是2009年1月26日，参赛者的资格为年龄限制在6至18岁的美国青少年。

一时间参赛者云集，参赛人数达9,000多人，华裔女孩马天琪（Clara
Ma，小学6年级，12岁，父母来自中国大陆）也在参赛者之中。

2011年，美国航天局评选委员会最终在参赛者中选定马天琪的短文，并且发了证书。据此，航天局为火星车航天器命名为”好奇号“火星车。

马天琪的短文写得怎样呢？她的获奖短文如下：

“Curiosity（好奇心）
is an everlasting flame that burns in everyone’s mind. It makes me get out of bed in the morning and wonder what surprises life will throw at
me that day. Curiosity is such a powerful force. Without it,we wouldn’t be who we are today. When I was younger, I wondered,‘Why is the sky blue?’, ‘Why do the stars twinkle?’, ‘Why am I me?’, and I still do. I had so many questions, and America is the place
where I want t o find my answers. Curiosity is the passionthat drives us through our everyday lives. We have become explorers and scientists with our need to ask questions and to wonder. Sure,there are many risks and dangers, but despite that, we still continue
to wonder and dream and create and hope. We have discovered so much about the world, but still so little. We will never know everything there is to know,but with our burning curiosity, we have l earned so much.”

如今，“好奇号”火星车在火星表面已经探测三个年头，硕果累累，马天琪的名字与它同在。此刻，我想起我的小孙女雨琪的名字与天琪相近，年龄只差两岁，今年上大二了。

袁萌
7月9日

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