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    6Apr, 2023
    NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter breaks world records, again

    NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter has been flying on the red planet’s surface for over two years now, and it has covered a distance of over 11 kilometres in that time. While 11 kilometres in two years may not seem like much in Earth terms, Ingenuity is actually breaking world records on the Mars.

    Ingenuity’s 49th flight, which happened on Sunday, April 2, broke two different records–that for the highest altitude and the highest speed–achieved by any self-propelled aircraft outside of Earth. During its 49th flight, the little rotorcraft flew up to a height of 16 metres and reached a top speed of 23.4 kilometres per hour.

    The rotorcraft set its previous flight height record on the red planet on December 3, 2022, when it flew about 14 metres in the air. Its previous flight speed record of 19.8 kilometres per hour was achieved on three different occasions–December 10, June 11, and April 8.

    Its longest flight so far was its record-breaking 25th flight on April 8, 2022, when it covered a distance of a whopping 704 metres in what is still its longest flight and was its fastest flight until flight 49.

    What is Ingenuity?

    Ingenuity is a small solar-powered helicopter that landed on the Martian surface on February 18, 2021, along with the Perseverance Rover. On April 19, the same year, it created history by completing the first powered extraterrestrial flight in human history. During that flight, it hovered and landed and the same spot for a flight that lasted 39.1 seconds, creating history.

    Why are Ingenuity’s records so impressive?

    While these distances may seem small for us here living on Earth, do remember that Mars is more than 225 million kilometres away right now. The distance between the two planets means that it takes between 5 to 20 minutes for a signal to travel from one to another.

    Adding to this signal delay, Ingenuity also has to survive the harsh conditions on Mars. The low atmospheric density on the planet means that Ingenuity must work much harder than helicopters here on Earth in order to be able to fly. Also, it has had to survive “continent-sized” dust storms in the past and other Martian hazards in the past.

    Resource : https://indianexpress.com/article/technology/science/nasa-ingenuity-mars-helicopter-8539782/

    7Dec, 2022
    NASA’s Mars helicopter has just set a new flight record

    NASA’s plucky Ingenuity helicopter set a new flight altitude record on Mars on Saturday.

    In a mission lasting 52 seconds, the 4-pound, 19-inch-tall machine reached a height of 46 feet over the martian surface while traveling a distance of 49 feet.

    While most of Ingenuity’s 35 flights on the red planet have reached a peak altitude of 33 feet, the weekend excursion by the drone-like device topped the existing record of 39 feet achieved on three separate flights last year.

    Ingenuity reached Mars with NASA’s Perseverance rover in a spectacular arrival captured in high-definition video in February 2021.

    Two months later, following a period of ground-based tests, Ingenuity became the first aircraft to achieve powered, controlled flight on another planet with a 39-second hover 10 feet off the ground. Its longest flight to date covered a distance of 2,325 feet in a mission in April 2022.

    Although the helicopter was sent to Mars to merely test the viability of using such a machine for future planetary missions, Ingenuity performed so well that NASA started using it to assist the ground-based Perseverance rover as it searches for evidence of ancient life on the planet.

    The aircraft helps by using its downward-facing camera to search for areas of interest for Perseverance to explore. The aerial vantage point also allows the team to use the imagery to find the safest and most efficient routes for Perseverance to take as it makes its way across the rocky surface to different exploration sites.

    Ingenuity’s record-breaking flight came 11 days after the flying machine set another record, for the shortest flight in Mars aviation history when it hovered 16 feet off the ground for a mere 18 seconds. The mission was an important one, however, as it gave the team a chance to test two new capabilities, specifically, hazard avoidance for landings and digital elevation maps to aid navigation.

    Resource : https://www.digitaltrends.com/space/nasa-mars-helicopter-new-flight-record/

    20Apr, 2021
    NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Succeeds in Historic First Flight

    Ingenuity’s First Black-and-White Image From the Air: NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter took this shot while hovering over the Martian surface on April 19, 2021, during the first instance of powered, controlled flight on another planet. It used its navigation camera, which autonomously tracks the ground during flight. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

    The small rotorcraft made history, hovering above Jezero Crater, demonstrating that powered, controlled flight on another planet is possible.

    Monday, NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter became the first aircraft in history to make a powered, controlled flight on another planet. The Ingenuity team at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California confirmed the flight succeeded after receiving data from the helicopter via NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover at 6:46 a.m. EDT (3:46 a.m. PDT).

    First Video of NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter in Flight: In this video captured by NASA’s Perseverance rover, the agency’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter took the first powered, controlled flight on another planet on April 19, 2021. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS.

    Ingenuity’s Team Waits for Data on Helicopters First Flight: Members of NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter team in the Space Flight Operations Facility at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory prepare to receive the data downlink showing whether the helicopter completed its first flight on April 19, 2021. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

    The solar-powered helicopter first became airborne at 3:34 a.m. EDT (12:34 a.m. PDT) – 12:33 Local Mean Solar Time (Mars time) – a time the Ingenuity team determined would have optimal energy and flight conditions. Altimeter data indicate Ingenuity climbed to its prescribed maximum altitude of 10 feet (3 meters) and maintained a stable hover for 30 seconds. It then descended, touching back down on the surface of Mars after logging a total of 39.1 seconds of flight. Additional details on the test are expected in upcoming downlinks.

    Ingenuity’s initial flight demonstration was autonomous – piloted by onboard guidance, navigation, and control systems running algorithms developed by the team at JPL. Because data must be sent to and returned from the Red Planet over hundreds of millions of miles using orbiting satellites and NASA’s Deep Space Network, Ingenuity cannot be flown with a joystick, and its flight was not observable from Earth in real time.

    Mars Helicopter Team Awaits First Flight Results: Members of NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter team in the Space Flight Operations Facility at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory prepare to receive the data downlink showing whether the helicopter completed its first flight on April 19, 2021. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

    NASA Associate Administrator for Science Thomas Zurbuchen announced the name for the Martian airfield on which the flight took place.

    “Now, 117 years after the Wright brothers succeeded in making the first flight on our planet, NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter has succeeded in performing this amazing feat on another world,” Zurbuchen said. “While these two iconic moments in aviation history may be separated by time and 173 million miles of space, they now will forever be linked. As an homage to the two innovative bicycle makers from Dayton, this first of many airfields on other worlds will now be known as Wright Brothers Field, in recognition of the ingenuity and innovation that continue to propel exploration.”

    Ingenuity’s chief pilot, Håvard Grip, announced that the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) – the United Nations’ civil aviation agency – presented NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration with official ICAO designator IGY, call-sign INGENUITY.

    As one of NASA’s technology demonstration projects, the 19.3-inch-tall (49-centimeter-tall) Ingenuity Mars Helicopter contains no science instruments inside its tissue-box-size fuselage. Instead, the 4-pound (1.8-kg) rotorcraft is intended to demonstrate whether future exploration of the Red Planet could include an aerial perspective.

    Perseverance’s Navcam View of Ingenuity’s First Flight: NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter achieves powered, controlled flight for the first time on another planet, hovering for several seconds before touching back down on April 19, 2021. The image was taken by the Navcam aboard the agency’s Perseverance Mars rover. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech. Full image and caption ›

    This first flight was full of unknowns. The Red Planet has a significantly lower gravity – one-third that of Earth’s – and an extremely thin atmosphere with only 1% the pressure at the surface compared to our planet. This means there are relatively few air molecules with which Ingenuity’s two 4-foot-wide (1.2-meter-wide) rotor blades can interact to achieve flight. The helicopter contains unique components, as well as off-the-shelf-commercial parts – many from the smartphone industry – that were tested in deep space for the first time with this mission.

    Ingenuity’s Team Reacts to Data Showing It Completed Its First Flight: Members of NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter team in the Space Flight Operations Facility at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory react to data showing that the helicopter completed its first flight on April 19, 2021. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

    Parked about 211 feet (64.3 meters) away at Van Zyl Overlook during Ingenuity’s historic first flight, the Perseverance rover not only acted as a communications relay between the helicopter and Earth, but also chronicled the flight operations with its cameras. The pictures from the rover’s Mastcam-Z and Navcam imagers will provide additional data on the helicopter’s flight.

    Over the next three sols, the helicopter team will receive and analyze all data and imagery from the test and formulate a plan for the second experimental test flight, scheduled for no earlier than April 22. If the helicopter survives the second flight test, the Ingenuity team will consider how best to expand the flight profile.