NASA is looking for help to name the newest International Space Station module, currently known as Node 3. The node&#8212which is scheduled for launch late this year—will be “a control tower for robotics in space and the world’s ultimate observation deck.” Node 3 will have room for life support equipment, and will carry a six-windowed cupola, which will provide views of the ISS and of Earth, as well as a control station for the ISS’s 57-foot robotic arm.
Voting is now open on this page (which also has more information about the Node’s systems and abilities, as well as pictures). NASA is offering a choice of one of their four suggestions—Earthrise, Legacy, Serenity, or Venture—and there is also a write-in option. Votes will be taken through 20 March, and the chosen name will be revealed on 28 April (about a week after Node 3 is scheduled to arrive at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, in preparation for its flight). NASA notes that the offered names (or any other chosen name) ought to “reflect the spirit of exploration and cooperation embodied by the space station and follow in the rradition set by Node 1, named Unity, and Node 2, named Harmony.”
The space shuttle Endeavour is currently scheduled to bring Node 3 to the ISS in December 2009, as part of mission STS-130. Node 3 will be attached to the port side of Unity.