Gift the Universe! Uwingu Opens 2016 Holiday Gifting

BOULDER, Colo. - Nov. 28, 2016 - PRLog -- Space engagement company Uwingu launched its 2016 holiday season promotion today, allowing customers to name craters on the Uwingu's Mars map and create personalized Uwingu Mars crater naming certificates for Christmas, Hanukah, or as a nondenominational Seasons Greetings. These and other unique gifts at Uwingu's website help celebrate the holidays, and areperfect for kids, friends, family, and colleagues with an interest in space, science, or technology!

"Having problems thinking of new 2016 holiday gift ideas for that someone who loves science, or space and astronomy? We have just the perfect thing, at www.uwingu.com!" said Uwingu's CEO, planetary scientist Dr. Alan Stern.

Like all Uwingu projects, half of the proceeds from gift sales contribute to the Uwingu Fund, which funds space research and education grants to researchers and space organizations. Added Uwingu's chief of marketing, Ellen Butler, "I love it that Uwingu purchases support much-needed new funding to accelerate space research and education."

Naming of Martian craters by the public is part of an Uwingu project to create the first citizen's Mars map, with names for all the approximately 500,000 unnamed features there. Craters can be named for almost anything or anyone, including friends, family, co-workers, heroes, pets, places on Earth or in space, sports teams, and musical artists.

Uwingu's Mars map is already the most complete Mars map in the world, and will be taken to Mars and used by two private space missions:  Mars One and Time Capsule To Mars. Available crater sizes in Uwingu's Mars map database range from under a kilometer (about a half a mile) across to over 350 kilometers (over 200 miles) across. Prices for naming craters depend on size, and begin at $10. All crater certificates come with a handsome downloadable certificate; framed hardcopy certificates are available as well.

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About Uwingu. Uwingu (which means "sky" in Swahili, and is pronounced "oo-wing-goo") consists of a team of leading astronomers, planetary scientists, former space program executives and educators. Uwingu is dedicated to creating new ways for people to personally connect with space exploration and education, while raising funds to support non-profit organizations in space exploration and astronomy. Uwingu's users come over 190 countries across the globe, and are helping to create the first crowd-sourced map of Mars. Individuals around the world have named over 15,000 craters, and the Uwingu Fund has already allocated over $130,000 in grants. Visit Uwingu's website to learn more at www.uwingu.com.