The Perseverance rover of NASA will not be the only machine gong to Mars when it launches mid-year. Along with it will be the Ingenuity Mars helicopter.
NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine posted on his twitter account on Wednesday that the Mars helicopter will attempt the first powered flight on another world. "I'm proud to name it Ingenuity," said Bridenstine.
Ingenuity: First powered flight on Mars
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: Ingenuity. It is set to arrive on 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 her essay, "the ingenuity and brilliance of people working hard to overcome the challenges of interplanetary travel are what allow us all to experience the wonders of space exploration. Ingenuity is what allows people to accomplish amazing things, and it allows us to expand our horizons to the edges of the universe."
NASA received about 28,000 essays from K-12 students from every U.S. state and territory recommending names for the next Mars rover. The agency announced in March that the seventh-grader Alexander Mather's essay earned him the honor of naming the rover Perseverance.
But with so many beautiful essays submitted to them, it is but fitting to choose also a name for the helicopter that will accompany the Perseverance rover on Mars. So NASA officials reviewed the submitted essays and chose a name for the helicopter.
It was the associate professor of NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Thomas Zurbuchen, who chose the rover's name. At the same time, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine chose the name for the helicopter.
Bridenstine said that the name Ingenuity encapsulates the values the helicopter tech demo will showcase for all the people across the globe when it takes off on 2021 as the first aircraft on another planet's surface.
Admittedly, it took scientists and experts a lot of time and ingenious work to get the helicopter ready and then placed on the rover, and there's a lot more going to be required. He added that the naming contest brought out the best of names possible for the aircraft, and he is humbled to be the one who selected the name for the helicopter.
Meanwhile, Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama also said that Vaneeza Rupani's choice of 'Ingenuity' as the name of the helicopter highlights her creativity, originality, and intelligence. Rupani's grasp on the importance of the Mars exploration is extraordinary, according to Sen. Shelby, on his congratulatory message for Rupani.
Mars 2020 Perseverance rover mission
The JPL manages operations of the Perseverance and Ingenuity for NASA. It is located at Kennedy and will be responsible for its launch management. Caltech manages JPL in Pasadena, California, for the space agency.
As part of the Space Act Agreement in educational and public outreach efforts between NASA, Battle of Columbus, Ohio, and Future Engineers of Burbank, California, the "Name the Rover" contest was able to give official names to the new rover that will be studying the red planet.
NASA intends to land its first woman and 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 stepping stone to sending astronauts to Mars.
