The cruise phase began after the space separated from the rocket, shortly after launch. The spacecraft leaves Earth at a speed of about 24,600 mph (about 39,600 km / h). The journey to Mars will take about seven months and about 300 million miles (480 million kilometers). Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech
On its way to the Red Planet with the Perseverance rover, the pioneer helicopter is performed for the first time in interplanetary space as part of a system control.
NASA‘s Ingenuity March Helicopter received a check and charge of its power system on Friday, August 7, one week near a seven-month trip to Mars with the Perseverance rover. This marks the first time the helicopter has been built and its batteries have been charged in the space environment.
In the eight-hour operation, the performance of the rotorcraft’s six lithium-ion batteries was analyzed, as the team brought their charge level to 35%. The project has determined that a low charge status is optimal for battery health during the cruise to Mars.
The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter can be seen between the left and center wheels of the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover. The image was created in the vacuum room at JPL on October 1, 2019. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech
“This was a major milestone as it was our first opportunity to engage Ingenuity and give their electronics a ‘test drive’ since we launched on July 30,” said Tim Canham, Mars Helicopter Operations Commander at Jet NASA Propulsion Laboratory in NASA Southern California. “Since everything went through the book, we will be doing the same activity about every two weeks to maintain an acceptable condition.”
The 4-pound (2-kilogram) helicopter – a combination of specially designed components and off-the-shelf components – is currently stowed on Perseverance’s stomach and receives its charge from the rover’s power supply. Once Ingenuity is deployed on the surface of Mars after Perseverance descends, the batteries are charged only by the helicopter’s own solar panel. If Ingenuity survives the cold Martian nights during its preflight checkout, the team will continue testing.
In this illustration, NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter stands on the surface of the Red Planet as NASA’s Perseverance Rover (partially visible on the left) rolls away. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech
“This charge activity shows that we have survived the launch and that we can handle the harsh environment of interplanetary space so far,” said MiMi Aung, Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Project Manager at JPL. “We have to go many more firsts before we can attempt the first experimental flight test on another planet, but at the moment we all feel very good about the future.”
The small craft will have a 30-Martian-day (31-Earth-day) experimental flight test window. If successful, Ingenuity will prove that propelled, controlled flight by a plane at Mars can be achieved, allowing future Mars missions to potentially add an aerial photo dimension to their exploration with second-generation rotorcraft.
In February 2021, NASA’s NAS 2020 Perseverance Rover and NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter (shown in an artist’s concept) will be the agency’s two newest explorers on Mars. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech
More on the mission
Managed by Caltech in Pasadena, California, JPL built and manages the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter for NASA. Lockheed Martin Space supplied the Mars Helicopter Delivery System.
Perseverance is a robot scientist who weighs just under 2,300 pounds (1,025 kilograms). The rover’s astrobiology mission will look for signs of past microbial life. It will characterize the planet’s climate and geology, collect samples for future returns to Earth, and pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet.
The Mars 2020 Perseverance rover mission is part of a larger program that includes missions around the Moon as a way to prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet. Aimed at bringing astronauts back to the Moon by 2024, NASA will establish a sustained human presence on and around the Moon in 2028 through NASA’s Artemis lunar reconnaissance plans.
