Alabama Student Names NASA's First Mars Helicopter by Associated Press, Adapted by Newsela Staff on 05.11.20 Word Count 489 Level 1040L

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Alabama student names NASA's first Mars helicopter By Associated Press, adapted by Newsela staff on 05.11.20 Word Count 489 Level 1040L

Image 1. An artist's rendering of a helicopter that will be deployed in Mars in the summer of 2020. Vaneeza Rupani, an Alabama high school student, won a contest to name the 4-pound solar-powered helicopter. She suggested Ingenuity. Photo: NASA via AP

Later this summer, NASA plans to send a 1.8-kilogram (4-pound) drone helicopter to Mars. The space agency recently announced that it had chosen to name the helicopter Ingenuity, a word that means having the quality of being clever or original. Experts want to see if the solar-powered helicopter will be able to fly in the Martian environment. They hope to one day use the flying machine to scout interesting targets on the surface of the red planet.

The name was a suggestion from Alabama high school student Vaneeza Rupani. She is a junior at Tuscaloosa County High School in Northport, Alabama. Her suggestion was just one of 28,000 names submitted in NASA's "Name the Rover" essay contest for K-12 students across the United States.

Helping To "Overcome The Challenges Of Interplanetary Travel"

The ingenuity of people working hard to overcome the challenges of interplanetary travel "are what allow us all to experience the wonders of space exploration," Rupani wrote in her essay.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. "Ingenuity is what allows people to accomplish amazing things. It allows us to expand our horizons to the edges of the universe."

A Mars Rover named Perseverance will bring Ingenuity to Mars. The rover is a vehicle that travels Mars on the ground. The name Perseverance was also submitted as part of a student essay contest. Later, the space agency decided to come back to the essays to also pick a name for the helicopter.

NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine says Ingenuity is a fitting name for the helicopter's new technology. Alabama Senator Richard Shelby also congratulated Rupani for the honor.

"It was really cool I got to be a part of something like this," Rupani says.

Heading To Mars In July Or August

Ingenuity has already completed testing in a NASA simulation chamber in southern California. The chamber mimics the environment on Mars. Next, it will be attached to the belly of the Perseverance. The rover will be sent to Mars in July or August. After it arrives on the Red Planet, the helicopter will remain under a covering to protect it until the timing is right for the aircraft to be launched. Once it is in use, NASA has planned a 31-day window for testing the helicopter's ability to fly on Mars.

This year's mission is part of a program that also includes missions to the moon to prepare for a possible human exploration of Mars. NASA plans to land the first woman and the next man on the moon in 2024. The agency wants to set up a continued human presence "on and around" the moon by 2028. From the moon, it will be easier to send astronauts to Mars.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. Quiz

1 Read the following statement.

Vaneeza Rupani felt proud after her name suggestion won the essay contest.

Which sentence from the article provides the BEST support for the statement above?

(A) The ingenuity of people working hard to overcome the challenges of interplanetary travel "are what allow us all to experience the wonders of space exploration," Rupani wrote in her essay.

(B) "Ingenuity is what allows people to accomplish amazing things."

(D) "It was really cool I got to be a part of something like this," Rupani says.

2 Read the following paragraph from the section "Helping To Overcome The Challenges Of Interplanetary Travel."

A Mars rover named Perseverance will bring Ingenuity to Mars. The rover is a vehicle that travels Mars on the ground. The name Perseverance was also submitted as part of a student essay contest. Later, the space agency decided to come back to the essays to also pick a name for the helicopter.

What conclusion is BEST supported by the paragraph above?

(A) NASA originally created the essay contest to name the rover.

(B) NASA almost decided to call the helicopter Perseverance.

(D) Perseverance is scheduled to arrive on Mars after Ingenuity.

3 Which of the following MOST influenced NASA to plan missions to the moon?

(A) the inspiration the agency drew from Ingenuity and Perseverance

(B) the inspiration the agency drew from a student essay contest

(D) the desire to gain better access to Mars for human exploration

4 According to the article, WHY did NASA put Ingenuity into a simulation chamber?

(A) to help protect the helicopter from the harsh environment of Mars

(B) to help the helicopter attach to the rover more securely

(D) to see if the helicopter would be able to fly continuously for months

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. Answer Key