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Writer's pictureThe Karan Pargaien

NASA is sending Helicopter on Mars!

NASA is truly dedicated towards its Mars Exploration Program and its steeping ahead powerfully with its Mars Helicopter named Ingenuity.



Key Objectives of Mars Helicopter Mission

  • Prove powered flight in the thin atmosphere of Mars. The Red Planet has lower gravity (about one-third that of Earth) but its atmosphere is just 1% as thick, making it much harder to generate lift.

  • Demonstrate miniaturized flying technology. That requires shrinking down onboard computers, electronics and other parts so that the helicopter is light enough to take off.

  • Operate autonomously. The helicopter will use solar power to charge its batteries and rely on internal heaters to maintain operational temperatures during the cold Martian nights. After receiving commands from Earth relayed through the rover, each test flight is performed without real-time input from Mars Helicopter mission controllers.


Key Features of Mars Helicopter Ingenuity

  • Weighs 4 pounds (1.8 kg)

  • Solar-powered and recharges on its own

  • Wireless communication system

  • Two 4-foot-long (1.2- meter-long) rotor system that spins up to 2,400 revolutions per minute

  • Equipped with inertial sensors, a laser altimeter and two cameras (one color and one black-and-white)


The Flight to Another World

The Mars Helicopter, Ingenuity, is a technology demonstration to test powered flight on another planet for the first time. It is hiking a ride over the Perseverance rover. A series of flight tests will be performed over a 30-Martian-day experimental window that will begin sometime in the spring of 2021.For the very first flight, the helicopter will take off a few feet from the ground, hover in the air for about 20 to 30 seconds, and land. That will be a major milestone: the very first powered flight in the extremely thin atmosphere of Mars! After that, the team will attempt additional experimental flights of incrementally farther distance and greater altitude. After the helicopter completes its technology demonstration, Perseverance will continue its scientific mission.


The End Notes

NASA is showing intense interest on Mars and the Helicopter test will help find some new clues about Mars. I will update you with the latest news about Ingenuity. That's all in this article.

Cheers!

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