For decades, the music of The Rolling Stones has had a global reach here on Earth. Now, the band’s influence extends all the way to Mars. The team behind NASA’s InSight lander has named a Martian rock after the band – Rolling Stones Rock.

The global campaign began when NASA/JPL informed us that when their Insight Lander landed on Mars it moved a rock. We collectively decided to name it after the Rolling Stones. Now how to announce it?

Working with the Rolling Stones and NASA/JPL, we landed (no pun intended) on making the announcement live at the band’s 22nd August Rose Bowl show in front of 60,000 fans. We collectively decided that having a special guest not only make the announcement but kick things off with a social media tease would help kick off the campaign, working with the Rolling Stones and NASA’s socials to create a ton of buzz. The special guest was Robert Downey Jr.

On the morning of the 22nd August, Robert launched a social media teaser across his socials that the Rolling Stones and NASA/JPL engaged with sparking wide speculation as to what was going to occur at the Rose Bowl. The NASA team created an ingenious animated video charting the Insight Lander’s journey from launch to Mars landing and moving the rock.

That night at the Rose Bowl in front of a sold-out stadium, Robert announced to the world that NASA named a rock on Mars after the band and revealed the NASA video on the on-stage screens.

Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood were delighted with the news and commented, “What a wonderful way to celebrate the Stones No Filter tour arriving in Pasadena. This is definitely a milestone in our long and eventful history. A huge thank you to everyone at NASA for making it happen.”

“The name Rolling Stones Rock is a perfect fit,” said Lori Glaze, director of NASA’s Planetary Science Division in Washington. “Part of NASA’s charter is to share our work with different audiences. When we found out the Stones would be in Pasadena, honouring them seemed like a fun way to reach fans all over the world.”

Robert Downey Jr made the announcement 22nd August at Pasadena’s Rose Bowl Stadium before the iconic band took the stage. Backstage before making the announcement, Downey said, “Cross-pollinating science and a legendary rock band is always a good thing…”