Wit: NASA’s Mars helicopter will attempt the first powered flight in another world

NASA’s Perseverance rover won’t be the only gong machine for Mars when it launches mid-year. Along with him will be the Ingenuity Mars helicopter.

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine posted on his Twitter account Wednesday that the Mars helicopter will attempt the first powered flight in another world. “I am proud to call it Wit,” said Bridenstine.

Destined to become the first aircraft to attempt a powered flight on the Red Planet, NASA’s Mars Helicopter has officially received its new name: Wit. It is slated to reach Mars on February 18, 2021.

NASA’s “Name the Rover” essay contest paved the way for a junior student at Tuscaloosa County High School in Northpoint, Vaneeza Rupani, to name the first powered flight to Mars.

Rupani wrote in his essay: “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. Ingenuity is what enables people accomplish incredible things, and allow us to expand our horizons to the edges of the universe. “

NASA received around 28,000 essays from K-12 students from every state and territory in the United States recommending names for the next Mars rover. The agency announced in March that seventh-grader Alexander Mather’s essay earned him the honor of naming the Perseverance rover.

But with so many beautiful trials presented to them, it is appropriate to also choose a name for the helicopter that will accompany the Perseverance rover on Mars. NASA officials then reviewed the submitted tests and chose a name for the helicopter.

It was the associate professor at NASA’s Scientific Mission Directorate, Thomas Zurbuchen, who chose the name of the rover. At the same time, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine chose the name of the helicopter.

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Bridenstine said the name Ingenuity sums up the values ​​that the helicopter technology demonstration will show everyone around the world when it takes off in 2021 as the first plane on the surface of another planet.

Admittedly, it took scientists and experts a lot of time and ingenious work to prepare the helicopter and then put it in the rover, and it will take much more. He added that the naming contest revealed the best possible names for the plane, and he is honored to be the one who selected the name of the helicopter.

Meanwhile, Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama also said that Vaneeza Rupani’s choice of “wit” as the helicopter’s name highlights her creativity, originality and intelligence. Rupani’s understanding of the importance of Mars exploration is extraordinary, according to Senator Shelby, for his congratulatory message to Rupani.

JPL manages Perseverance and Wit operations for NASA. It is located in Kennedy and will be responsible for its launch management. Caltech manages JPL in Pasadena, California for the space agency.

As part of the Space Law Agreement on educational and public outreach efforts between NASA, the Battle of Columbus, Ohio, and the Future Engineers of Burbank, California, the “Name the Rover” contest was able to officially name the new rover that will be studying the red planet.

NASA intends to land its first woman and the next man on the lunar surface in 2024 through its Artemis Project. By 2028, they hope to establish a sustained human presence on and around the Moon, using it as a springboard to send astronauts to Mars.