Daniel Ritter

By Rich Lynch: A fan history panel! The most knowledgeable and insightful panelist was Daniel Ritter, who is managing editor of First Fandom Experience, but others had relevant and often pithy things to say. (But it’s too bad Fanac.org was not represented on the panel.). Randy Smith provided a really nice thumbnail sketch of how fandom began. We now all stand on the shoulders of those Giants of yesteryear. (1) COMING TO ANOTHER PLANET NEAR YOU. Science News posted the winning name in NASA’s contest to name the new Mars rover. Meet Perseverance, NASA’s next ambassador to the Red Planet. The Mars rover’s new name was announced March 5, after a six-month “Name the Rover” competition that drew more than 28,000 entries from students in kindergarten through high school. Students were asked to make their name suggestions in essays.The winning entry came from 7th grader Alex Mather, who became interested in becoming a NASA engineer after he attended the space agency’s Space Camp at age 11. Meet Perseverance, NASA’s next ambassador to the Red Planet. The Mars rover’s new name was announced March 5, after a six-month “Name the Rover” competition that drew more than 28,000 entries from students in…