NASA’s Ingenuity Mars helicopter is making the longest and fastest flight ever

NASA’s Ingenuity Mars helicopter is making the longest and fastest flight ever

NASA’s helicopter Mars is setting new records. On one of its newest flights, Ingenuity flew farther and faster than ever before.

A little more than a year since the Ingenuity helicopter first took off in the Martian sky in April 2021, the small drone has already flown 28 flights, traveling a total of nearly 7 kilometers. Given that not long ago engine flight was considered impossible in the extremely thin atmosphere of Mars, these facts – in themselves – are very impressive!

However, during the 25th flight of Ingenuity, the mission team expanded its borders to the farthest point so far. On April 8, 2022, the helicopter flew a total of 704 meters, with a maximum speed of 5.5 meters per second (nearly 20 km / h). This surpasses his previous distance and speed records set during his 9th flight on July 5, 2021, at 625 m and 5.0 m / s.

Watch below: Ingenuity shot a video of the longest and fastest flight to date

Click here to see the video

According to NASA: “The first frame of the video starts about one second in flight. After reaching a height of 33 feet (10 meters), the helicopter heads southwest, accelerating to its maximum speed in less than three seconds. The rotorcraft first flies over a group of sand waves, then, about half of the video, a few rocky fields, and finally, a relatively flat and devoid of terrain below, providing a good landing site.The video of the 161.3-second flight was accelerated approximately fivefold, reducing it in less than 35 seconds. “

Most of Ingenuity’s flights so far have been short jumps for comparison, covering distances between 100 m and 450 m. In addition, during these flights its pace is much calmer, between 5 and 15 km / h. Reaching new limits for distance and speed really makes the helicopter cope. This also proves to NASA what they can achieve in future missions. It is possible that each rover or lander that lands on the Red Planet from now on will include its own autonomous drone to support the study.

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Mars Ingenuity Sol449 NASA-JPL-Caltech

The mid-afternoon shadow of NASA’s Ingenuity Mars helicopter stretches across the ground in Jezero Crater in this image obtained from the helicopter’s high-resolution color camera on May 26, 2022 (Sol 449 from the Perseverance mission). Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech

AWFUL MOMENT

The weather affects the small drone.

In early May, the rover Perseverance lost contact with Ingenuity. A terrible moment for the team, definitely.

Since their latest update, they believe that with the onset of winter for Jezero Crater, temperatures dropping to -80 ° C, along with increased dust in the air, appear to be causing the helicopter to shut down at night.

Ingenuity charges its batteries through a solar panel mounted above its rotors. The resulting electricity powers his flight, as well as his cameras, computer and communications. It also works with heaters used to keep its electronics at a relatively stable temperature throughout the night.

Mars-Helicopter-Ingenuity-Components-NASAJPLCaltech

This Ingenuity diagram highlights the various components of a helicopter. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech

Currently, the added powder prevents Ingenuity from fully charging its battery. At the same time, heating requirements to keep electronics warm at night place more demands on available power.

When the battery is exhausted, the electronics are exposed to these cold -80 ° C temperatures. This is known as cold soaking. And while cold soaking is commonly used as a test method to determine the resilience of mission components, it’s not something you want to subject your spacecraft’s electronics to on a regular basis!

According to an May 27 update from Ingenuity: “It is believed that the electronics that soak in the cold have caused the end of the missions of the rover Opportunity and Spirit Mars.”

The team seems cautiously optimistic that Ingenuity’s electronics could survive the winter. After finding out that he has recovered from the loss of communication, they hope to send him on his 29th flight soon.

Persistence-Ingenuity-Location Map-NASA-JPL-Caltech

This map shows the relative locations of perseverance and ingenuity in the crater Jezero on Mars. Click or tap to view the full map. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech

This will take the helicopter on a short trip southwest of its current location, bringing it closer to Perseverance while the rover takes samples from the river delta.

(Miniature courtesy of NASA / JPL-Caltech)