Digital Media Center
Bryant-Denny Stadium, Gate 61
920 Paul Bryant Drive
Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0370
(800) 654-4262

© 2024 Alabama Public Radio
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Alabama student names NASA's first Mars helicopter

Associated Press

 

NORTHPORT, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama high school student has named NASA’s first Mars Helicopter that will be deployed to the red planet later this summer. 

NASA said Wednesday that Ingenuity, the name submitted by Vaneeza Rupani, was selected for the 4-pound solar-powered helicopter.

The space agency says Ingenuity was chosen from among 28,000 names submitted during NASA’s “Name the Rover” essay contest for K-12 students across the United States.

A NASA administrator says Ingenuity encapsulates the values that the helicopter will showcase when it eventually takes flight over the surface of Mars. The helicopter will be attached to the rover's belly inside a rocket that leaves for Mars in July or August.

The Associated Press is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering, supplying a steady stream of news to its members, international subscribers and commercial customers. AP is neither privately owned nor government-funded; instead, it's a not-for-profit news cooperative owned by its American newspaper and broadcast members.
Related Content
News from Alabama Public Radio is a public service in association with the University of Alabama. We depend on your help to keep our programming on the air and online. Please consider supporting the news you rely on with a donation today. Every contribution, no matter the size, propels our vital coverage. Thank you.