Don’t find the answer you need below? Contact us through our contact page.

1. Is there a limit to the number of names I can submit?
2. Do I own the names I nominate?
3. Can I change a name after I have bought it?
4. Will you ever rename something that I have named or change a nomination I have made?
5. Are there words that I cannot use in a naming nomination? Why?
6. I found a name or description that I consider to be offensive. Who do I contact about it?
7. Who reviews a name before Uwingu approves it?
8. What kind of research, education, and exploration programs will Uwingu fund?
9. Can I suggest a recipient for Uwingu funds?
10. Are my purchases tax deductible?
11. I would like to make a contribution to Uwingu. How do I do that?
12. Why am I being asked to explain the name I chose. Is this required?
13. Can I add hyperlinks to my name description?
14. Can I embed a picture or a video?
15. Can I name something after my business or its services?
16. Can I buy a gift certificate for someone?
17. Can I name something in a language other than English?
18. I named something and you rejected it. Can I appeal this decision?
19. Can I use my Uwingu names in a scientific paper? If so how do I reference them?
20. Do NASA or other space agencies recognize Uwingu names?
21. How do I contact Uwingu?
22. I lost my password! How do I find out what it is or get a new one?
23. The billing on my credit card is wrong. Who do I talk to about this?
24. I am in Europe; can I pay in Euros? I’m in…
25. I’ve read that the International Astronomical Union (IAU) says that only they can name planets. What’s the story?
26. How is Uwingu different from companies that offer to name a star?
27. Hasn’t the IAU already named thousands of craters on Mars?
28. How will our Uwingu Mars feature names be used?
29. How does Uwingu’s name approval process work?
30. Can I visit my crater?
31. What if the name I want to use is already taken?
32. Can there be duplicate names on Mars?
33. Can I name mountains, hills, or canyons on Mars?
34. Can someone rename my crater after I’ve named it?
35. Can I name mountains, hills, or canyons on Mars?
36. Am I purchasing property or property rights on Mars?

1. Is there a limit to the number of names I can submit?
There is no limit to how many names you can nominate, or how many times you can vote! The more you participate, the more science you facilitate!

2. Do I own the names I nominate?
You do not own the names you nominate; as our purchase agreement states, names entered into the Uwingu database are not owned by their nominators. The names you nominate become part Uwingu’s databases.

3. Can I change a name after I have bought it?
No, all names are set at purchase, and users cannot later make changes to the names they nominated and the citations that go with these names. Likewise, votes cast are also final.

4. Will you ever rename something that I have named or change a nomination I have made?
Uwingu will never rename, change, or delete a name nomination, except in the limited instances specified by our user purchase agreement. For example, if we find that a name is vulgar or otherwise offensive, we reserve the right to delete the name from our databases.

5. Are there words that I cannot use in a naming nomination? Why?
Vulgar words and phrases, epithets, insults, inciting or defamatory language, and language that is otherwise offensive is not allowed, in any language.

6. I found a name or description that I consider to be offensive. Who do I contact about it?
There are two options.

• On the name-view pages you should see a link to report names. Just click that link, and send us a report!
• You can also contact us directly through our contact form, and select “Report Name” as the message subject.

7. Who reviews names at Uwingu?
Uwingu staff reviews name submissions and deletes those that we find, or that users report, as offensive, profane, pejorative, or insulting.

8. What kind of research, education, and exploration programs does Uwingu fund?
Many kinds! Some are strategically selected by Uwingu, and others will funded from proposals made to us by scientists, educators, and others around the world. To be responsive to the needs of a diverse set of applicants, Uwingu will be looking to a combination of fund travel grants, project grants, educator grants, and researcher grants. As long as the proposal involves space research, education, or exploration, it will be considered. Learn more on our “For Grant Applicants” page!

9. Can I suggest a recipient for Uwingu funds?
Rather then send us information about someone you think should be funded, please encourage them to apply through our standard application process, or to sign up for our Newsletter for Grant Applicants.

10. Are my purchases tax deductible?
No, like other for-profit firms that make grants to good causes, purchases at and contributions to Uwingu are not tax deductible.

11. I would like to make a monetary contribution to Uwingu. How do I do that?
Just visit our donations page! And if you’d like to talk with someone about donations, please use our contact form and select “Giving” as the subject.

12. Why am I being asked to explain the name I chose with a citation? Is this required?
Yes, it is required. We ask for a citation explaining the reason you selected any given name you are nominating so that your reasons can be recorded for posterity. We think that the reasons behind a given name being nominated will be important to history. It also makes name nomination and voting more fun!

13. Can I add hyperlinks to my name description?
No, Uwingu’s database allows for text descriptions only. Hyperlinks can go out-of-date, but your written descriptions will last forever.

14. Can I embed a picture or a video?
Neither pictures nor videos can be embedded in name nominations or naming citations at this time.

15. Can I name something after my business or its services?
Yes, you can nominate names for planets after anyone or anything, so long as it is not vulgar, pejorative, profane, inciting, or otherwise offensive.

16. Can I buy a gift certificate for someone?
Yes! To purchase a gift certificate, please do the following:

1. Go to http://uwingu.com/shop/20-gift-certificate-3/
2. Enter the amount you would like for each gift certificate. If they are not all the same amount, then you will need to repeat this process for the groups of certificates that are similar amounts.
3. Select the number of gift certificates you would like to purchase by clicking the the + button.
4. Click the Add to Cart button.
5. Click on the View Cart button that appears above the image and selections.
6. If you cart looks accurate, then click on the Proceed to Checkout button.
7. Login to your account or create one.
8. Select the “Gift store credit to someone else” option from the Store Credit Receiver Details in the upper right hand corner. This will bring up another option below it.
9. Select the “Send to different people” option. This will create separate boxes for each gift certificate where you can enter their email address and a personal message.
10. Once you are done entering this information, scroll down.
11. Check the Terms and Conditions box.
12. Click on the Place Order. This will redirect you to your PayPal account where you can confirm your purchase and process payment.
13. Once you are done, it will take you back to the Uwingu site.

17. Can I name something in a language other than English?
Yes, absolutely! Uwingu invites everyone around the world to participate, so many languages and alphabets are supported by our database. Over time, that capability will continue to grow.

18. I named something and you rejected it. Can I appeal this decision?
Yes, just use our contact page and select “Appeal Name Rejection” as the subject.

19. Can I use Uwingu names in a scientific paper? If so how do I reference them?
Yes, of course. You can reference them using their citation number in Name Database Registry.

20. Do NASA or other space agencies recognize Uwingu names?
Not yet. But a growing number of astronomers, planetary scientists, and commercial space firms are using Uwingu names.

21. How do I contact Uwingu?
Please use our contact form.

22. I lost my password! How do I find out what it is, or get a new one?
Just go to the Log In page and click the “forgot my password” link there; a temporary password will be emailed to you. (If you don’t receive that email, set your spam filters to allow emails from uwingu.com and try again.)

23. The billing on my credit card is wrong. Who do I talk to about this?
Please use our contact form and select “Billing Issue” as the subject. Be sure to include the email address you use as your uwingu.com Login ID, but never include sensitive information like your credit card number.

24. I am in Europe; can I pay in Euros? I’m in …?
All Uwingu transactions are in dollars, but payments through PayPal (which allows you to use credit cards without logging in!) will convert many currencies to dollars for you, including Euros. To see a complete list of the countries where payment via PayPal is currently available, please visit https://www.paypal.com/webapps/mpp/country-worldwide. If you do not see your country listed, you will not be able to purchase from uwingu.com. We are working on alternative payment methods so that everyone around the world may be able to participate.

25. I’ve read that the International Astronomical Union (IAU) says that only they can name planets. What’s the story?
No one owns the sky, and the IAU has no exclusive ‘official’ naming rights to astronomical objects. In fact, in August, 2013 the IAU formally stated that it acknowledges that public naming of astronomical objects are legitimate.

26. How is Uwingu different from companies that offer to name a star?
Many companies that offer to sell you a star make don’t publish their name databases– so if you or an astronomer wants to find a star’s name, well, good luck! At Uwingu, our databases are fully open to all. And at Uwingu, naming helps support scientific research and education through grants given by The Uwingu Fund.

27.Hasn’t the IAU already named thousands of craters on Mars?
Yes, over a period of about 50 years, the IAU named about 15,000 features on Mars. All of the names of those features have been grandfathered onto Uwingu’s base map. We hope to greatly accelerate the naming of features on Mars by involving the public!

28. How will our Uwingu Mars feature names be used?
They’ll be used by anyone using Uwingu’s Mars maps. For now that’s just the public, but soon, we hope, scientists and space missions to Mars will be using these maps too! In fact, the private Mars One missions to Mars are already using our Mars map.

29. How does Uwingu’s name approval process work?
There is no approval process at Uwingu! Once you’ve completed the check out process, your name is accepted. And unless it’s later found to be profane, pejorative, or otherwise offensive (in which case it’ll be removed), it’ll remain approved.

30. Can I visit my crater?
Yes! You can visit your crater through our web site at www.uwingu.com. Soon we hope to see Uwingu craters popping up on Wikipedia other Mars maps, and in social media!

31. What if the name I want to use is already taken?
No problem, Uwingu’s Mars maps feature a unique Province and District grid system on the face of Mars. Just like there are Main Streets and other locales repeated across the Earth so long as they are unique within their country, state, and city, names can be repeated on Mars just so long as its unique within the given province and district. So if you find the name you want to use is taken, just move to a different map location in a different province or district! And in fact, if you want to put a given name many places on Mars—you can!

32. Can there be duplicate names on Mars?
Yes Uwingu’s Mars maps feature a unique Province and District grid system on the face of Mars. Just like there are Main Streets and other locales repeated across the Earth so long as they are unique within their country, state, and city, names can be repeated on Mars just so long as its unique within the given province and district. So if you find the name you want to use is taken, just move to a different map location in a different province or district! And in fact, if you want to put a given name many places on Mars—you can!

33. Can I name mountains, hills, or canyons on Mars?
Not yet! We plan to offer that soon, but for now, only craters are available for naming in the Uwingu map database.

34. Can someone rename my crater after I’ve named it?
No, they cannot. This is not allowed at Uwingu.

35. Am I purchasing property or property rights on Mars? What about naming rights on Mars itself? No, you are simply purchasing a place on Uwingu’s new map of Mars, a map which, we note, the Mars One mission is using already and actually taking to Mars in 2018!