HOUSTON (CNN) – The Ingenuity helicopter, sidekick and travel companion of NASA’s Perseverance rover, has checked in with a good report and is “working as expected,” the agency said.
If successful, Ingenuity will be the first helicopter to fly on another planet, leading to an “alien moment from Wright Brothers,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate.
The rover landed safely on the surface of Mars on Thursday after launch from Earth on July 30. Persistence has already sent back an impressive series of images to show that she is safe and ready to go through a “checkout” phase before embarking on her journey across the surface. .
Now, for the first time, the mission team has heard directly from the helicopter – and that’s good news.
Ingenuity is currently hidden under the robber and attached to Perseverance’s belly. The rover is about the size of an SUV, while the helicopter weighs only about 4 pounds.
The helicopter was able to call home through the rover by sending data back through NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which acts as a communication relay between Mars and Earth and has been orbiting the red planet since 2006.
Resourcefulness is comfortable where it is and won’t let go of the rover for a test flight quickly. The helicopter stays snug with the rover for 30 to 60 days.
“Ingenuity, the Mars helicopter I’m carrying works as expected. I’m currently charging it, but once I put it down, it will rely solely on its solar panels. If it survives the horribly cold Mars nights, the team will. escape attempt ‘, you read a tweet of the Perseverance Twitter account.
Ingenuity, the Mars helicopter I’m carrying, works as expected. I am currently charging it but once I put it down it will rely solely on its solar panels. If it survives the horribly cold Mars nights, the team will try to flee. https://t.co/8pksN06ZwP#CountdownToMarspic.twitter.com/80kEoww0QU
– NASA’s Persistence Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) February 20, 2021
“ There are two big items we’re looking for in the data: the state of charge of Ingenuity’s batteries and confirmation that the base station is working as designed, with the heaters being turned on and off to keep the helicopter’s electronics within the expected range. keep boundaries. range, ”Tim Canham, chief of Ingenuity Mars Helicopter operations at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said in a statement.
“Both seem to work fine. With this positive report, we will continue (Saturday) recharging the helicopter’s batteries.”
Ingenuity must generate and store energy so that it can keep itself warm and maintain other vital functions during the cold Mars nights once the rover lands the helicopter on the red planet’s surface. Then Ingenuity is on its own.
And it will have to endure nights where the temperature can drop as low as -30 degrees Fahrenheit. As Elton John famously sings in “Rocket Man,” Mars is indeed cold as hell.
Maintaining function and a good battery health are critical if the helicopter is to survive the frigid climate of Mars before taking test flights later. A total of five test flights are planned over a 31-day period once the rover has found the correct “helipad” or a nice flat place to deposit ingenuity.
As long as Resourcefulness is attached to Perseverance, the helicopter can boost its batteries. The helicopter has six lithium-ion batteries. Once disconnected from the rover, those batteries are charged by the helicopter’s solar panel.
Ingenuity’s maiden flight will be short, hovering above the ground only for about 20 seconds. But it will be a historic moment. Like the very first Mars rover, Sojourner, Ingenuity is a technology demonstration – an experiment. Evidence that this concept can work could lead to the development of a helicopter plane that could serve as explorers for both rovers and human missions to Mars in the future.
If that first flight is successful, “more than 90% of the project goals will be met,” NASA said.
Subsequent flights could take longer and test more of the helicopter’s capabilities. It has two cameras that can take aerial photos. Perseverance will also train its cameras on Ingenuity to capture the sights and sounds, including video, of these historic flights.
“We’re in uncharted territory, but this team is used to it,” said MiMi Aung, project manager for the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter at JPL, in a statement. “Just about every milestone from here to the end of our flight demonstration program will be a first, and every milestone must pass for us to move on to the next. We will enjoy this good news for now, but then we must get back to work . “
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