BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — It’s two days and counting before an historic Space Coast launch, and now we're asking "what's in a name?"
What You Need To Know
- Two teens responsible for naming mars rover, its aircraft
- On Mars, "Ingenuity" will fly off rover "Perseverance"
- RELATED: Mars Rover Team Gears Up for Thursday’s Perseverance Launch
For two youngsters, it means an out-of-this world experience: being a part of the NASA Mars 2020 mission.
The United Launch Alliance Atlas V made its way to the pad Tuesday, gearing up for an historic mission.
Safely buttoned up on top of the rocket, the NASA Mars 2020 rover and its tiny helicopter partner.
Back on the ground, just a couple miles away, two students who are responsible for their names.
"It just thought of 'Perseverance' one day, and realized it would be the perfect fit," said Virginia 7th grader Alexander Mather's, whose entry of "Perseverance,” was chosen from 28,000 essays from K-12th grades kids from every state in the country.
"The biggest thing I think about humans is perseverance," Mather told Spectrum News. "We've shown it today, we've shown it all across our history."
WHAT’S IN A NAME: 7th grader Alexander Mather and 11th grader Vaneeza Rupani are @NASAKennedy to watch the @NASAPersevere launch. @NASA chose Mather’s name #Perseverance for the rover, and Rupani’s name #Ingenuity for it’s sidekick helicopter. @MyNews13 #News13Brevard pic.twitter.com/Qz4QDQ7eu3
— Greg Pallone (@gpallone13) July 28, 2020
"I think it represents why space travel is possible," said Alabama 11th grader Vaneeza Rupani's, whose entry of "Ingenuity" was among the 28,000 entries too.
But after the rover's name was chosen, NASA decided to sift back through all the submissions to find a name for the helicopter.
"Without ingenuity and creativity, it wouldn't be possible for people to come up with things like this," said Rupani.
"Perseverance's" goal is to drill and collect core samples of promising rocks and soil, preserving them for return trips to Earth.
The mission includes finding out if life ever existed on the planet, studying its climate and geology, and prepping for human exploration by testing oxygen levels in the atmosphere.
"Ingenuity" will become the first aircraft to fly off planet.
The tiny twin-rotor solar powered craft will serve as a scout, investigating tough terrain like cliffs, caves and deep craters, paving the way for future human missions.
The new friends are getting to know each other and will see their first launch in-person when it blasts off Thursday morning.
"I'm excited to talk to him and we can be nerds about space together, so it will be cool," Rupani said.
"Just the inspiration, and showing everyone how great humans can be when we work together,” Mather said.
Both kids say they want to have engineering careers, possibly for NASA.
The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket hauling the Mars 2020 rover is set to blast off from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station July 30 at 7:50 a.m.