Proper Names
Q. CMOS 15, at paragraph 8.124, says the names of specific ships and other vessels are italicized. In our editing department, we have run across the question of whether to italicize the name of the Mars rovers, such as Sojourner Rover. According to Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, tenth edition, a spacecraft is a vehicle or device designed for travel or operation outside Earth’s atmosphere. With that definition, I think the Sojourner Rover would be italicized, but a colleague believes M-W is being too general with its definition. What’s your opinion?
A. It’s less a matter of the type of ship than the type of name. A unique name given to a single craft or vehicle of any kind can generally be italicized. The name of a class, model, make, etc. is usually capitalized and set in roman type. “Sojourner” is the name of the rover for the “Mars Pathfinder” mission:
Sojourner, the Mars Pathfinder rover, weighs just twenty-five pounds.
“Mars Pathfinder” is also the name of the spacecraft that carried Sojourner and should be italicized when used as such:
Mars Pathfinder landed on Mars with the aid of a parachute.
By analogy, if you were to name your car, you could legitimately italicize it:
Driving Fred, my 1957 Mercury Commuter station wagon, I feel as if the only thing I need to know in this world is how to duck and cover.
But the name that the Ford Motor Company gave it is merely capitalized.
