The dead fly longer
The Mars helicopter Ingenuity was considered a test device, and it was not even clear whether it could take off on Mars at all. Now the drone has completed its 50th flight.
Almost two years ago, the Ingenuity Mars helicopter took off for the first time. At the time, NASA only wanted to let the ultra-light rotor device ascend a total of five times for test purposes. However, this plan is long outdated: Ingenuity has now completed its 50th flight on 13 April 2023, as reported by the US space agency in a press release.
On its anniversary flight, the small helicopter also set a new altitude record: It ascended 18 metres, according to NASA. Ingenuity covered a distance of more than 322 metres and took just under two and a half minutes to do so.
Initially, the use of the aircraft was considered a pure test mission - the aim was to show that a mini helicopter could be used on Mars at all. NASA has since adapted the original plan: Ingenuity is helping to explore the terrain from the air and thus facilitate the work of the Mars rover Perseverance on the ground.
"When we flew for the first time, we thought we would be very lucky if we managed five flights," says Teddy Tzanetos from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, which designed the helicopter, according to the press release. "Since then, we have exceeded the expected cumulative flight time by 1250 per cent and the expected flight distance by 2214 per cent." However, Tzanetos says it is not possible to predict how long Ingenuity will remain operational. However, the device is already showing clear signs of wear and tear.
Before the first test flight, it was unclear whether Ingenuity would be able to ascend at all: Mars' atmosphere is extremely thin - on the ground, its pressure is less than one per cent compared to conditions on Earth. However, gravity is weaker on the Red Planet, meaning that Ingenuity only weighs around a third of its terrestrial weight. To ensure that the mini-helicopter would be operational despite the difficult conditions, the engineers built it from extremely lightweight materials. The device weighed just 1.8 kilograms on earth and is half a metre high. It has two counter-rotating rotors that measure 1.2 metres in length. The lightweight device flies according to a pre-programmed route, which is transmitted from Earth via the Mars rover. This is because Ingenuity cannot be controlled directly due to the long distance and the resulting delay in radio signals.
NASA sent the Mars helicopter into space at the end of July 2020 together with the Mars rover Perseverance. The mission reached the Red Planet in February 2021. After the lander touched down in Jezero Crater in the northern hemisphere, NASA successfully carried out the first test flight with the small helicopter on 19 April 2021. The vehicle hovered above the Martian soil for around 39 seconds at an altitude of three metres.
Spectrum of Science
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Cover image: © NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS (detail) Mars rover Perseverance photographed the Mars helicopter on 15 June 2021 as it rested on the ground.
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