Although development of the rover began 10 years ago, engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena began work on the design of a light aircraft that could fly on Mars in 2014. Testing of a succession of models continued until January 2019, when the design passed its final tests.
The Wit is an incredibly lightweight design, weighing in at just 4 pounds and featuring four carbon fiber blades, solar cells, and batteries. The blades are divided into two rotors that rotate opposite each other. The mill rotors will spin much faster than the helicopters we have on Earth.
Mars has an incredibly thin atmosphere, so the Ingenuity design had to be lightweight and include bigger, faster rotors to lift it up into the air.
“The Wright brothers demonstrated that powered flight into Earth’s atmosphere was possible using an experimental aircraft,” said Håvard Grip, principal pilot of Ingenuity at JPL. “With ingenuity, we are trying to do the same for Mars.”
The helicopter does not carry any scientific instruments because it is the experiment itself, or what NASA calls a technology demonstration. This test will allow them to try three separate helicopter flights on another planet for the first time.
Although Ingenuity has undergone tests on Earth that simulate Martian conditions, designers will not know until Ingenuity lands with Perseverance and drops on the Martian surface if it can withstand the low temperatures, which can reach negative 130 degrees Fahrenheit at night. .
And the mill will fly based on its own autonomy and commands that are sent in advance, rather than instructions in real time, due to delayed communication between Mars and Earth. The data from each flight will also take time to return to Earth.
The first flight and landing test is expected in the spring of 2021 on Mars. But first, it has to endure the launch from Cape Canaveral later this month, the journey through space to Mars, and landing on Mars.
Then you need to peel off the bottom of the rover and use your range to make the best decisions on how to stay warm at night and how to stay charged using your solar panel.
And finally, Ingenuity will experience its first flight, well in sight of the Perseverance rover and its cameras that, hopefully, will be able to track and watch the flight.
Based on that flight experience, the Ingenuity team can try up to four other test flights within a 31-day window.
If the Ingenuity technology demonstration is successful, it could pave the way for more advanced robotic aircraft to be used in future missions to Mars, both robotic and human, according to NASA.
While Martian orbiters allow global observation points and make communication with Earth possible, and rovers show detailed ground views, aircraft on the planet could contribute unique and useful observations. This could assist robots and humans on Mars and even access areas where rovers cannot go.
“The Ingenuity team has done everything possible to test the helicopter on Earth, and we look forward to flying our experiment in the real environment of Mars,” said MiMi Aung, project manager for Ingenuity at JPL. “We will learn all the time and it will be the best reward for our team to be able to add another dimension to how we explore other worlds in the future.”
“The ingenuity and brilliance of people who work hard to overcome the challenges of interplanetary travel are what allow us all to experience the wonders of space exploration,” Rupani wrote. “Ingenuity is what enables people to achieve incredible things.”
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