NASA may consider putting Stephen Colbert's name on a
space toilet, after the comedian came out on top of the U.S. space agency's
online naming poll for a new space module.
The eponymous host of "The Colbert Report"
swept in as a dark-horse
challenger after urging viewers to enter his name through a write-in
option. When voting ended March 20, "Colbert" had amassed more than
230,000 votes to beat out second-place name "Serenity" by more than
40,000 votes.
"Come on, Serenity?" Colbert said on his March
10 show. "That's not a space module, that's a Glade plug-in."
The Node 3 module contains eight fridge-sized racks for
many of the space station's life support systems, such as the new
space toilet, as well as an observation deck that contains a work station
for the International Space Station's 57-foot robotic arm. It is currently
slated for launch later this year to the space station.
Colbert pressed NASA's human space flight chief, Bill
Gerstenmaier, to name the space module after him during a show on March 10. But
Gerstenmaier was noncommittal, saying only that the space agency would have to
"think
about that" as the votes came in.
"That's NASA's problem," Colbert said.
"You guys think too much."
As it became clear that "Colbert" was likely to
win the popular vote, NASA insiders told SPACE.com, agency personnel
floated the idea of naming the station's new toilet "Colbert."
NASA spokesman John Yembrick said the Node 3 naming
decision would not be made until April and that the "highest voted names"
were receiving the most consideration.
"As for the toilet rumor, we don't want to flush
away any goodwill by announcing something before we are ready," Yembrick
said.
The Node 3 naming contest attracted nearly 1.2 million
votes, with other write-in suggestions also coming in strong.
"Myyearbook" placed third behind "Serenity" with 147,637
votes, while "Gaia" finished fourth at 114,427.
NASA recently opened a new naming
contest for its Mars Science Laboratory rover on Monday, although no
write-in option exists there.
But the U.S. space agency has expressed strong interest
in incorporating public opinion, as evidenced by previous naming contests for
the Spirit and Opportunity rovers and the Harmony space station module. That
means "Colbert" fans may want to keep watch for the official
announcement next month.
"We haven't decided on a name yet, but we're
certainly not going to ignore more than 230,000 'Colbert' votes from the
public," Yembrick noted.
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