The NASA team reported encouraging news: on April 16, the 154th anniversary of the birth of aircraft designer Wilbur Wright, a message was received that. That the Martian helicopter Ingenuity passed the high speed blades spin test. This is an important milestone on the road to flight as the team continues to work on the sequencing issue identified on April 9th.
A team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) wrote: “How did we get past this milestone? As with any engineering problem, there are many approaches to solving. In this case, the team worked on two potential solutions in parallel. The approach that led to today's successful rotation testing would require adding multiple commands to the flight mission. This approach has been extensively tested on both Earth and Mars, and has been carried out without compromising the safety of the helicopter.
The second approach requires minor modification and reinstallation of the software that controls Ingenuity's flight. Replacing the firmware is the simplest solution to the identified problem. But it will take a little longer, because it requires modification of the software, which has remained worked out and unchanged for almost two years. Verification and testing has already taken several days, and uploading and downloading these new files will take several more. "
Experts will soon consider both options and make a decision after analyzing, testing and verifying all efforts - both in JPL and on Mars. Scientists understand that the public wants to know the date of the first flight, so the team will announce it shortly.
The car-sized Perseverance rover landed inside the 45 km diameter Jezero crater on February 18, when the 1.8 kg helicopter was still firmly attached to the bottom of the rover when folded. After dropping the casing, "Perseverance" deployed "Ingenuity", brought the helicopter battery charge to 100%, unloaded it to the surface of Mars and drove a short distance, allowing sunlight to reach the helicopter powered by solar panels.
A panorama of the NASA Perseverance rover and the Ingenuity drone, compiled from 62 photographs (NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSSS / Seán Doran)
Until this moment, the drone was powered by the rover, and now it receives energy exclusively from the Sun - it is required not only for flights, but also for heating during cold Martian nights (the temperature drops to -90 ° C). NASA recently released the first low-resolution photo from the helicopter's lower service camera, followed by a self-portrait of the rover with Ingenuity in the background. Due to a problematic propeller test, the first takeoff of Inventiveness, scheduled for April 11, had to be postponed.
Things to know (Q&A)
How many times faster do the blades of the MARS helicopter rotate as compared to a normal helicopter?
The blades are arranged into two rotors, each of which stretches 4 feet (1.2 m) from tip to tip. And those rotors will spin at about 2,500 revolutions per minute (RPM) to get Ingenuity off the ground — far faster than would be required for a 4-lb. helicopter here on Earth, Aung said.
Did the helicopter fly on Mars?
We'll have to wait a bit longer to see the first Mars helicopter lift off. NASA had originally aimed to conduct the first Red Planet flight of its Ingenuity helicopter —the first-ever powered flight on a world beyond Earth—on Sunday (
Does the Mars helicopter have a camera?
Ingenuity is considered a "technology demonstration," because its planned flights on Mars are designed simply to show that this technology works. While the helicopter does have an onboard camera to take images throughout its mission, that is its only onboard feature not directly related to it flying.
What are the main objectives of the ingenuity?
Ingenuity's objective is an engineering one: to demonstrate rotorcraft flight in Mars' the extremely thin atmosphere, which has just around 1% of the density of our atmosphere on Earth. Ingenuity will attempt up to five test flights within a 30-Martian-day (31-Earth-day) demonstration window.
What are the 4 types of helicopter vibration?
1 - High gross weight. 2 - Low RPM. 3 - High density altitude. 4 - Steep or abrupt turns.
Why do some helicopters have two rotors?
Having two coaxial sets of rotors provides symmetry of forces around the central axis for lifting the vehicle and laterally when flying in any direction. Because of the mechanical complexity, many helicopter designs use alternate configurations to avoid problems that arise when only one rotor is used.
Can you fly a plane on Mars?
A Mars aircraft is a vehicle for flying in the atmosphere of
Can helicopters fly on the moon?
No, both planes and helicopter cannot fly on the moon . It will need a jet engine with its own supply of oxygen, which only rockets in our present world can fly .
Can you breathe on Mars?
Mars does have an atmosphere, but it is about 100 times thinner than Earth's atmosphere and it has very little oxygen. An astronaut on
Can a helicopter fly on the moon?
No, both planes and helicopter cannot fly on the moon . It will need a jet engine with its own supply of oxygen, which only rockets in our present world can fly . Helicopters 'push' air down to go up, while lift is obtained for planes when air travels faster over the top of the wings than under.