NASA delays historic Ingenuity helicopter’s first flight to Mars



[ad_1]

An artist's concept of NASA's Ingenuity Mars helicopter taking off.

An artist’s concept of NASA’s Ingenuity Mars helicopter taking off.

NASA / JPL-Caltech

Looks like we’ll have to wait a little longer to see a helicopter fly to Mars. NASA decided to push back Ingenuity Mars helicopterIngenuity’s first experimental flight due to a safety alert during a high-speed spin test of Ingenuity’s rotors, the space agency said on Saturday. The flight, originally scheduled for Sunday, will now take place “no earlier than April 14” on a Wednesday, the space agency said in a statement. But the helicopter is “safe and healthy,” NASA said.

During Friday’s rotor test, “the command sequence controlling the test ended prematurely due to the expiration of a ‘watchdog’ timer,” NASA said in a status update. “This happened while he was trying to switch the flight computer from ‘Pre-Flight’ mode to ‘Flight’ mode.”

The agency added that the watchdog timer “monitors the sequence of commands and alerts the system to any potential problems. It helps the system stay safe by not proceeding if a problem is observed.”


Now playing:
Check this out:

How NASA’s Mars helicopter could change the future of …


5:20

The space agency said the Ingenuity team was diagnosing the problem and would reprogram the rotor test based on its findings. NASA previously said Ingenuity’s flight date may change as engineers make adjustments and perform pre-flight checks.

When Ingenuity does eventually fly, it will be the first time humans have performed controlled, powered flight on another planet. The experimental helicopter, worn on mars through NASA’s Perseverance rover, could open up a whole new way to explore other worlds.

[ad_2]

Source link