NASA’s Mars helicopter survives crisp night on its own in key pre-flight test

NASA’s Ingenuity mini helicopter survived its first night on its own on the surface of Mars after being dropped off by Perseverance on Saturday. Resisting freezing Martian temperatures, the newly deployed rotorcraft passed a major test of independence, giving engineers the confidence to conduct a series of warm-up drills in preparation for its maiden flight this weekend.

“This was one of the big, huge achievements that we were looking forward to, and now we can move on to the rest of the mission,” Teddy Tzanetos, deputy director of operations for Ingenuity, said on Monday in a broadcast. direct from NASA. “And now we are alone. We are a separate spaceship on Mars on our own energy. “

The solar-powered four-pounder arrived on Mars attached to the belly of NASA’s Perseverance rover on February 18. The rover dropped Ingenuity’s protective cover last month to begin a meticulous week-long deployment process that ended last weekend, with Ingenuity’s four landing legs firmly planted on the Martian surface for the first time. Soon after, Ingenuity’s 13-megapixel camera took its first image of the ground.

Image: NASA / JPL

Perseverance receded, setting off the helicopter’s 31-day clock to complete five flight tests and become the first aircraft to perform powered flight over another world. Its first flight is currently scheduled for Sunday, April 11, with confirmation of the success of the attempt arriving through the Mars-Earth data pipeline the next day.

Engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory confirmed that Ingenuity survived Mars’ freezing nighttime temperatures of around -130 degrees Fahrenheit on Monday morning, after the helicopter returned signals to the Mars base station, a communication center on board Perseverance.

For its first flight test this weekend, Ingenuity will rise nearly 10 feet from the surface and hover in place for about 30 seconds. It will pivot while hovering to demonstrate smooth movement, then begin a gradual descent for a landing. Engineers expect to receive images of Ingenuity’s hover on the morning of April 12, along with tons of data about the flight.

Perseverance sent back images of Ingenuity shortly after dropping her off at her “helipad,” a small space on one side of her runway-shaped flight area. Subsequent tests in Ingenuity’s 30-day test window include flying up to 16 feet and gliding forward in the flight zone. The helicopter will not carry out any scientific mission during its stay on Mars; engineers stressed that this was only a flight demonstration.

Ingenuity’s two-rotor system, spanning four feet, will spin in opposite rotations as fast as 2,400 rpm to achieve lift in the ultra-thin atmosphere of Mars.

Despite the helicopter’s tiny and lightweight design, it must be completely power independent now that it has detached from the Perseverance power supply. To do this, the craft has a solar panel above its propellers that powers six lithium-ion batteries in its tissue box-sized body, which also houses a computer roughly 100 times more powerful than that of Perseverance, and small radiators to warm up during freezing periods. Martian nights.