Baby name story: Antares

Antares plaque, 1971

Last month’s test launch of the Antares rocket — designed to deliver cargo to the International Space Station — was a success. The first real launch may take place this summer.

This news reminded of a baby girl named Antares, who happened to be in the news a few decades ago.

Antares June Davis was born on January 25, 1971, to Richard and June Davis of Palm Beach.

She was born a week before the start of the Apollo 14 mission, which blasted off on January 31, 1971.

Her parents were close friends with one of the mission’s three astronauts, Edgar Mitchell, who was the pilot of the Apollo 14 lunar module, Antares. So that’s what they named their daughter.

The lunar module was named after the star Antares, a red supergiant and one of the brightest stars in the nighttime sky. The name Antares probably comes from the ancient Greek word antares, meaning “anti-Ares,” or “rival of Mars,” a reference to its Mars-like reddish color. Alternatively, some believe the star was named after the Arab warrior-hero Antar.

Antares Davis is now an actress. Her IMDB page states that astronaut Edgar Mitchell is her godfather.

Do you like the name Antares?

P.S. Here are a few more Apollo-inspired names.

Sources:

Image: NASA

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