National Aeronautics and Space Administration has developed a new Mars helicopter and Indian origin girl identified as Vaneeza Rupani, a 17-year-old high schooler from Northport, Alabama, was bestowed the honour to name it.
In a historic event, Vaneeza has officially named NASA’s first Mars helicopter ‘Ingenuity’ and in fact, everyone is already loving it. It should be noted that it is the first aircraft to attempt powered flight on another planet.
Vaneeza Rupani is a high school junior from Northport, Alabama and she bagged the honour of naming the helicopter after she had submitted her essay to NASA’s ‘Name the Rover’ contest
In March, space agency NASA had announced that its next rover would be named ‘Perseverance’ which is totally based on seventh-grader Alexander Mather’s essay.
It was when NASA also decided to pick a name for the helicopter that will accompany the rover to Mars.
The international space agency had received close to 28,000 essays and Rupani’s entry was one out of those submitted by K-12 students from every US state and territory.
“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,” Rupani reportedly wrote in the essay.
The bright young prospect is pretty much excited that her entry got selected. The teenager also said that she is thrilled to be have a part in its journey.
“(I thought) ingenuity would be a good name for the helicopter because that is exactly what it took to design this machine. The helicopter is an incredible project, and I am thrilled to have a part in its journey,” she told NASA.
Ingenuity and Perseverance are expected to be launched in July and land on February 2021 in Mars’ Jezero Crater.