[ad_1]
The first NASA helicopter on Mars has a name now and the credit goes to Vaneeza Rupani, a 17-year-old girl of Indian descent.
Rupani, a high school student from Northport, Alabama, earned the honor of naming the helicopter after submitting her essay in NASA’s “Name the Rover” contest.
Destined to become the first aircraft to attempt a powered flight on another planet, NASA’s Mars Helicopter is officially called: Ingenuity, as Rupani suggests.
While NASA announced in March that its next rover would be named Perseverance based on the seventh-grade Alexander Mather test, the agency decided to also choose a name for the helicopter that will accompany the rover to Mars.
Our Mars helicopter has a new name! Meet: wit. Student Vaneeza Rupani came up with the name during our rover contest. The mill will travel to the Red Planet with @NASAPersevere to attempt the first powered flight in another world, “NASA tweeted.
Rupani’s entry was one of 28,000 essays submitted by K-12 students from all US states and territories. According to NASA, which made the announcement on Wednesday.
“The ingenuity and brilliance of the people who work hard to overcome the challenges of interplanetary travel are what allow us all to experience the wonders of space exploration,” Rupani wrote in his essay, according to a NASA press release. .
“Ingenuity is what enables people to accomplish amazing things, and allows us to expand our horizons to the edges of the universe,” he said.
Rupani has been interested in space science since she was a little girl, according to her mother, Nausheen Rupani.
On her way to school every day, she and her father would pretend they were in a spaceship. They imagine seeing planets (buildings), stars (traffic lights), etc. on their way and give them names, “Nausheen Rupani told NASA.
Having her performance selected was more than exciting, the teenager said.
“(I thought) ingenuity would be a good name for the helicopter because that is exactly what it took to design this machine,” he told NASA. “The helicopter is an incredible project, and I am delighted to be participating in its journey.”
Ingenuity and perseverance are slated to launch in July and land next February in Jezero Crater on Mars, the site of a lake that existed 3.5 billion years ago.
While the rover collects samples from Mars, the helicopter will attempt to fly and, if successful, will allow future Mars missions to “add an aerial dimension to its explorations,” according to NASA.
“I am proud that NASA’s Mars Helicopter is named after Vaneeza Rupani of Northport, Alabama. This is a unique privilege. Ms. Rupani’s essay on why she chose the name ‘Wit’ highlights her creativity, originality, and intelligence His understanding of the importance of exploration is extraordinary, and I am sure he has a bright future ahead of him, “said Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama.
READ ALSO: NASA astronauts from space share some good news about John Krasinski’s program: Earth is still beautiful
ALSO READ: Mars Helicopter is ready to fly over Red Planet, helicopter weighs less than 2kg
