NASA: piloting the Mars Ingenuity helicopter “becomes more and more difficult”

High risk, high reward. NASA’s Mars helicopter bet has paid off as Ingenuity continues to fly over the Martian landscape as a scout for the Perseverance rover. It was a triumphant mission, but the work of the helicopter becomes much more difficult to accomplish.

Havard Grip, Ingenuity’s chief pilot, spoke about the challenges the helicopter faces in a NASA status update this week. The density of the atmosphere in Jezero Crater is declining, a factor according to Grip has “a significant impact on Ingenuity’s ability to fly.”

Atmospheric density – which can fluctuate over time and with seasonal changes – affects the thrust Ingenuity needs to take off and climb through the air. A lower density makes it more difficult to perform these tasks. Even life-size helicopters on Earth have to take atmospheric density into account. The ingenuity was optimized to operate in an atmosphere on Mars that is about 1.2-1.5% of Earth’s at sea level, but the rotorcraft stayed long enough to undergo a change in conditions.

This does not mean that ingenuity will be grounded. “Fortunately, there is a way to fix this, but it involves spinning the rotors even faster than we’ve done so far,” Grip said. “In fact, they’ll have to spin faster than we’ve ever tried with Ingenuity or any of our test helicopters on Earth.”

The brave little rotorcraft heads into uncharted territory as its team plans to test this demonic version of its rotor speed. NASA JPL said Ingenuity performed a rotor spin test and could take off from its 14th flight today. The flight will be short and will aim to show that the helicopter can handle lower atmospheric densities.

These tests represent a short break from recent work by Ingenuity on the Mars flyby and scan the landscape to help the Perseverance team plan the rover’s explorations.

Grip has warned of possible problems that could arise with increasing rotor speed. The helicopter can experience aerodynamic drag that prevents flights, although Grip says that shouldn’t be a problem just yet. The rotorcraft could also encounter vibrations that could damage its equipment.

The planned tests will be quite a training for the chopper. “The motors will have to spin faster, the electrical system will have to deliver more power, and the entire rotor system will have to withstand the higher loads that accompany increased rotor speeds,” Grip said.

Ingenuity has a knack for overcoming challenges. He succeeded because of technical issues and software updates and performed increasingly difficult flights. Hoping that he clears this last hurdle.