QUESTION:
My question revolves around the cost of the mission.  Is corporate
sponsorship out of the question?  A big Nike symbol on the back of the
Sojourner would've paid for a large chunk of this incredible event.

ANSWER from Mark Adler on July 13, 1997:
Indeed it could have.  Unfortunately, corporate sponsorship is apparently
forbidden.  Inquiries were made along those lines for Disney to partially
sponsor a mission to Pluto with the use of the Pluto cartoon dog.  However,
the NASA headquarters legal office determined that the government cannot do
that.  I don't know the particulars.

On the other hand, we can issue licenses for NASA/JPL intellectual property,
as was done with Mattel for the Pathfinder/Sojourner Hot Wheels toys.  There
are royalties on that, but I don't think that the amount is significant
compared to the cost of the mission.

Mark Adler