Named in honor of Arthur C. Clarke (1917– ), renowned author and visionary. His optimistic portrayal of the future and confidence in the human spirit are themes that pervade his writing. Clarke is best known for his novel 2001: A Space Odyssey, which was simultaneously developed into a landmark film. In his 1973 science fiction novel Rendezvous with Rama, Clarke describes the development of Project Spaceguard, a means for detecting and mitigating potentially hazardous objects in near-earth space. In recognition of Clarke’s foresight, the name Spaceguard was adopted in a 1992 NASA proposal to the U.S. Congress for a dedicated program to survey the NEO population, as well as in the international foundation established in Rome on 1996 Mar. 26. (M 27127; M 27147) _ _.