What Happened: Loay Elbasyouni, a Palestinian from Gaza, is one of engineers that designed NASA’s mini Mars helicopter Ingenuity.
A Palestinian from Gaza helped build the first helicopter to fly on Mars.
Loay Elbasyouni told AJ+ about his journey from Gaza to NASA. pic.twitter.com/scKivpe2cs
— AJ+ (@ajplus) June 27, 2021
N ASA’s Ingenuity helicopter was attached to the Perseverance rover that landed on the red planet on Feb. 18 and became “the first aircraft flying on another planet.” On April 19, Ingenuity performed its first flight that lasted around a minute. Loay Elbasyouni is one of engineers that designed NASA’s mini Mars helicopter Ingenuity. In his interview to AlJazeera English, He talked about his helicopter’s first flight on Mars. Backstory : Elbasyouni, currently living in Los Angeles, was born and raised in Gaza’s Beit Hanoun city. He came to the states in 1998 and completed his higher education in electrical engineering from University of Louisville. In his an interview with Anadola, he recalled he couldn’t meet his parents for 12 years due to the occupation of Israel.
After graduating, he made researches on alternative energy, electric vehicles, and planes. Later, he was assigned to the team that built the helicopter sent to Mars for NASA. He recalled how at first the idea of an aircraft flying on Mars seemed unachievable: “It was very complex, I mean we had to design a motor that actually operates at very cold temperature.” “It was just an idea that can you really fly on Mars?” he said. He further added how they built a small miniature aircraft that was like “a toy.”
Before the #MarsHelicopter, there was a Mars plane. ✈️
Though it never flew on the Red Planet, we tested this foldable Mars plane design at our airfield in 1996. #TBT pic.twitter.com/veRvoNBaQP
— NASA Ames (@NASAAmes) June 17, 2021
“They actually took that helicopter tested it in the chamber at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and it actually did not perform so good,” Elbasyouni said. “The day it [Ingenuity] landed on Mars safely, I was like okay I made it. I achieved to have a piece of hardware on Mars.”
He later described the joyous moment stating: ”I shouted in the middle of the night waking up half of the building … My eyes literally [filled with] tears [while watching the live streaming].” He said that it felt as if he was one of the Wright Brothers, who successfully flew the first motor-operated airplane in the US at the beginning of the 1900s. “I mean I’m part of history,” he said, adding that Ingenuity successfully flew four times. In the second flight, it was able to capture more scenes and it exceeded expectation, he said. Recalling his childhood in Gaza he said that he did not see circumstances as an obstacle. He always thrived for success: “I always knew I will succeed. Honestly, I have not reached my goals yet.” He further stated that he is interested in new discoveries in the field of electric energy use and that he can establish his own company in the future.
When asked why he doesn’t go back to his homeland he explained: “In engineering, we can predict everything, we can calculate everything and we can follow a project timeline. If I do the same thing with the situation in Gaza, if I say, I want to visit Gaza, what is the timeline? I cannot answer that question.” “I have to be willing to sacrifice my career, my job and put myself at risk,” He said explaining the unpredictability of border closure and opening. He recalled that once his parents were stuck in Gaza for nine months and their visas got expired. Noting that his father is one of the best surgeons of Palestine in Israeli occupied Gaza City, he said people living in his country strive for success. “They used to go to the Rafah crossing every day. It’s not easy,” he said. Elbasyouni urged the people of Gaza to remain hopeful despite the challenges with the analogy that he worked on a mission he called “impossible.” “I think they should dream, and they should believe in their hope.” Click here to see more from ProperGaanda.