{"id":223861,"date":"2021-04-10T11:55:18","date_gmt":"2021-04-10T08:55:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/nasa-space-copter-ready-for-first-mars-flight\/"},"modified":"2021-04-10T11:55:18","modified_gmt":"2021-04-10T08:55:18","slug":"nasa-space-copter-ready-for-first-mars-flight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/nasa-space-copter-ready-for-first-mars-flight\/","title":{"rendered":"#NASA space copter ready for first Mars flight"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#NASA space copter ready for first Mars flight<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

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\"This
\n This NASA illustration depicts Mars Helicopter Ingenuity during a test flight on the Red Planet
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The helicopter that NASA has placed on Mars could make its first flight over the Red Planet within two days after a successful initial test of its rotors, the US space agency said Friday.<\/p>\n


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The current plan for the first-ever attempt at powered, controlled flight on another planet is for the four-pound (1.8 kilogram) helicopter, dubbed the Ingenuity, to take off from Mars’ Jezero Crater on Sunday at 10:54 pm US eastern time (0254 GMT Monday) and hover 10 feet (3 meters) above the surface for a half-minute, NASA said.<\/p>\n

“The helicopter is good, it’s looking healthy,” said Tim Canham, Ingenuity operations lead, in a press conference.<\/p>\n

“Last night, we did our 50 RPM spin, where we spun the blades very slowly and carefully,” he said.<\/p>\n

The plan for Sunday is to have it rise, flying only vertically, hover and rotate for 30 seconds to take a picture of the Perseverance rover, which touched down on Mars on February 18 with the helicopter attached to its underside.<\/p>\n

Then the Ingenuity will be lowered back down onto the surface.<\/p>\n

The flight will be autonomous, pre-programmed into the aircraft because of the 15 minutes it takes for signals to travel<\/a> from Earth to Mars, and also due to the demanding environment of the distant planet.<\/p>\n

“Mars is hard not only when you land, but when you try to take off from it and fly around, too,”said MiMi Aung, Ingenuity project manager.<\/p>\n

She explained that the planet has significantly less gravity than Earth, but less than one percent the pressure of Earth’s atmosphere at the surface.<\/p>\n

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\"Ingenuity
\n Graphic on Ingenuity, the helicopter that hitched a ride on the Perseverance rover, which is scheduled to make its first flight attempt no earlier than April 11.
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The makes it necessary for the Ingenuity to be able to spin its rotor blades much faster than a helicopter on Earth in order to fly.<\/p>\n

“Put those things together, and you have a vehicle that demands every input be right,” said Aung.<\/p>\n

NASA captured the test of the rotors in a short video shot from the rover just a few meters away, showing what looks like a small drone.<\/p>\n

Aung said a second test would be conducted today, with the rotors running at high speed.<\/p>\n

“The only uncertainty remains the actual environment of Mars,” she said, mentioning possible winds. <\/p>\n

NASA calls the unprecedented helicopter operation highly risky, but says it could reap invaluable data about the conditions on Mars. <\/p>\n

NASA plans up to five flights, each successively more difficult, in a period of a month.<\/p>\n\n

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NASA’s Mars Helicopter to make first flight attempt Sunday\n <\/p><\/div>\n

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\n \u00a9 2021 AFP<\/p>\n

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Citation<\/strong>:
\n NASA space copter ready for first Mars flight (2021, April 10)
\n retrieved 10 April 2021
\n from https:\/\/phys.org\/news<\/a>\/2021-04-nasa-space-copter-ready-mars.html<\/p>\n

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\n part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n