WASHINGTON, March 24, 2021 (BSS/XINHUA) – NASA’s Ingenuity Mars helicopter
will attempt its first powered, controlled flight on Mars no earlier than
April 8, which will be the first of an aircraft on another planet, NASA said
Tuesday.
The 1.8-kg rotorcraft is attached to the belly of NASA’s Perseverance
rover, which touched down on Mars on Feb. 18, in search of signs of ancient
life.
The rover currently is in transit to the “airfield” where Ingenuity will
attempt to fly. Once deployed, Ingenuity will have 30 Martian days, or 31
Earth days, to conduct its test flight campaign, according to NASA.
Flying in a controlled manner on Mars is far more difficult than flying on
Earth, said NASA. The red planet has significant gravity, about one-third
that of the Earth’s, but its atmosphere is just 1 percent as dense as the
Earth’s at the surface.
During Martian daytime, the planet’s surface receives only about half the
amount of solar energy that reaches the Earth during its daytime, and
nighttime temperatures can drop as low as minus 90 degrees Celsius, which can
freeze and crack unprotected electrical components.
To fly in the Mars environment, the Ingenuity helicopter has to be
lightweight. To survive the frigid Martian nights, it must have enough energy
to power internal heaters, according to NASA.
“Every step we have taken since this journey began six years ago has been
uncharted territory in the history of aircraft,” said Bob Balaram, chief
engineer for NASA’s Mars helicopter.
“While getting deployed to the surface will be a big challenge, surviving
that first night on Mars alone, without the rover protecting it and keeping
it powered, will be an even bigger one,” he said.
Ingenuity, the first helicopter ever to fly on another world, could pave
the way for extensive exploration of the Martian skies, said NASA.