NASA helicopter on Mars reports in

Mission controllers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California received the first situation report from the Ingenuity Mars helicopter, which landed on February 18, 2021 at Jezero Crater attached to the belly of the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover. agency. The downlink, which arrived at 3:30 p.m. PST (6:30 p.m. EST) via a connection via the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, says the helicopter, which will remain attached to the rover for 30 to 60 days, and its base station ( an electrical box on the rover that stores and routes communications between the rotorcraft and Earth) are functioning as intended.

“There are two important things we look for in the data: the state of charge of the Ingenuity batteries as well as confirmation that the base station is functioning as intended, ordering the heaters to turn off and on for keep the helicopter electronics within limits, ”said Tim Canham, Ingenuity Mars Helicopter operations manager at JPL. “Both seem to be working well. With this positive report, we will move forward with tomorrow’s charging of the helicopter batteries.”

Ensuring that Ingenuity has plenty of energy stored on board to maintain heating and other vital functions while maintaining optimal battery health is critical to the success of the Mars helicopter. Powering up for one hour will increase the rotorcraft batteries to approximately 30% of full capacity. A few days later, they will be charged again to reach 35%, with future charging sessions scheduled weekly while the helicopter is attached to the rover. The downlink data from tomorrow’s charging sessions will be compared to the battery charging sessions performed during the cruise to Mars to help the team plan for future charging sessions.

Like most 4 pound (2 kilogram) rotorcraft, all six lithium-ion batteries are commercially available. They are currently receiving recharges from the rover’s power supply. Once Ingenuity is deployed on the surface of Mars, the helicopter’s batteries will be charged only by its own solar panel.

Once Perseverance deploys Ingenuity to the surface, the helicopter will have a 30 Martian (31 Earth) experimental flight test window. If Ingenuity survives its first spooky Martian nights – where temperatures drop to minus 130 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 90 degrees Celsius) – the team will make a plane’s first flight to another world.

If Ingenuity is successful in taking off and hovering on its first flight, over 90% of the project goals will have been met. If the rotorcraft lands successfully and remains operational, up to four more flights could be attempted, each building on the success of the last.

“We’re in uncharted territory, but this team is used to it,” MiMi Aung, project manager for the Ingenuity Mars helicopter, told JPL. “Just about every milestone between now and the end of our flight demonstration program will be a first, and each must succeed in order for us to move on to the next.” We will take advantage of this good news for now, but then we have to get back to work. “

Next-generation rotorcraft, descendants of Ingenuity, could add an aerial dimension to future exploration of the Red Planet. These advanced robotic flying vehicles would offer a unique perspective not provided by current overhead orbiters or by rovers and landers on the ground, providing high definition imagery and recognition for robots or humans, and would enable to access terrain that is difficult for rovers to reach. .