It is called the Van Zyl Overlook.
Born in Namibia, van Zyl then came to South Africa to study at the University of Stellenbosch, after which he moved to America and played a crucial role in NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California for 33 years.
SA People reports that although Van Zyl was an expat for over three decades, he still had connections to home, and liked to encourage youngsters in Namibia and South Africa to become scientists.
Sadly, van Zyl was not around to see his helicopter take flight on Monday.
At the age of 64, van Zyl passed away in August 2020 after suffering a heart attack in California.
A ridge on Mars has been named after the late Jappie van Zyl, the Namibian engineer behind the Mars helicopter. Stock photo: iStockPhoto
A piece of real estate on planet Mars has been named after a Namibian man, Jakob (Japie) van Zyl, who studied at Stellenbosch University in South Africa, obtaining an honours degree in electronic engineering in 1979.
Van Zyl was the leader of the team that created Ingenuity Mars Helicopter which yesterday made history – becoming the first aircraft in history to make a powered, controlled flight on another planet! (Watch below.)
Sadly Van Zyl did not live to see this incredible achievement. The 64-year-old passed away in August 2020, after suffering a heart attack in California, where he lived. He did at least see the launch, a month before he died, of NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance rover, which carried Ingenuity to the red planet.