--- description: Find out why MiMi Aung is one of the 100 most influential people of 2021. title: MiMi Aung: The 100 Most Influential People of 2021 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt921808a46d09fda6/698a1cd516d8841e85c39b6b/mimi-aung-time-100-2021-1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Sep 14, 2021 # MiMi Aung by Andy Weir  In an undated photo from JPL-Caltech/NASA, from left, Teddy Tzanetos, a roboticist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory; MiMi Aung, the Mars Helicopter's project manager; and Bob Balaram, its chief engineer; observe a test flight at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., Jan. 18, 2019\. As part of its next Mars mission, NASA is sending an experimental helicopter to fly through the red planet's thin atmosphere. (JPL-Caltech/NASA via The New York Times) -- FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY In an undated photo from JPL-Caltech/NASA, from left, Teddy Tzanetos, a roboticist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory; MiMi Aung, the Mars Helicopter's project manager; and Bob Balaram, its chief engineer; observe a test flight at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., Jan. 18, 2019\. As part of its next Mars mission, NASA is sending an experimental helicopter to fly through the red planet's thin atmosphere. (JPL-Caltech/NASA via The New York Times) -- FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLYJPL-CALTECH/NASA/The New York Times/Redux Many years ago, I was at a book signing and someone asked me, “Hey, why can’t we explore Mars with aircraft?” I said, “Because the air is too thin. That’s just the worst idea ever.” Well, I wasn’t quite that rude—but that’s what I was thinking. Yet on April 19, the [Ingenuity helicopter](https://time.com/5954081/ingenuity-helicopter-flies-on-mars/ "undefined") made its historic first flight on Mars. So that shows you what I know. Countless engineers and scientists worked on the project, but the effort was directed by MiMi Aung. She briefed President Joe Biden on the flight shortly after. No big deal, right? Making a helicopter fly in the planet’s low atmospheric pressure is no small feat, especially considering it has to pilot itself—communication latency between Earth and Mars makes direct control impossible. But MiMi and her team were able to make it happen, and it will pave the way for more rapid Mars exploration in the future. _Weir is an author whose novels include The Martian and Project Hail Mary_ MiMi Aung Is on the 2021 TIME100 List ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2021/6095977/mimi-aung/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2021/6095977/mimi-aung/"},"headline":"MiMi Aung","datePublished":"2021-09-14T17:18:58.000Z","dateModified":"2026-07-21T07:22:15.179Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2021/6095977/mimi-aung/","keywords":["TIME 100","franchise","T100 2021"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt921808a46d09fda6/698a1cd516d8841e85c39b6b/mimi-aung-time-100-2021-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt921808a46d09fda6/698a1cd516d8841e85c39b6b/mimi-aung-time-100-2021-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2021/6095977/mimi-aung/","name":"MiMi Aung"}}]}] ```