NASA's Ingenuity helicopter was photographed by the Perseverance Rover on Mars on June 15, 2021.
It was supposed to fly only five times. NASA's Mars helicopter, Ingenuity has made 12 flights, and isn't yet ready to retire.
Ingenuity's unexpected success led to the US space agency extending its mission indefinitely.
The small helicopter has been a regular companion for Perseverance's rover Perseverance. Its core mission is to search for signs of ancient life on Mars.
Josh Ravich, Ingenuity's chief mechanical engineer team leader, stated that "everything is working so well." "We are doing better than we expected on the surface."
Although hundreds of people contributed to this project, only a few still hold day-to-day positions.
Ravich joined the team in 2005.
"When I was offered the chance to work on the helicopter project I felt the same way as everyone else: 'Is it even possible?'
His initial concerns were understandable. Mars's air has a density that is only one percent of Earth's atmosphere. To put it in perspective, flying a helicopter to Mars would be similar to flying one in thin air close to 20 miles (30 km) above Earth.
It was not an easy task to get to Mars. After a seven-month journey through space, the astronaut was strapped to the belly of the rover and had to overcome the shock of taking off from Earth.
The tiny, four-pound (or 1.8 kilogram) copilot had to adapt to its new environment. It was able draw warmth from the solar panels, which charge its batteries throughout the day, and has survived the Martian night's glacial cold. Because of the 15-minute delay in communication from Earth, real-time guidance is impossible for its flights.
Scouting duties
Ingenuity flew its maiden flight on April 19. It is the first motorized craft ever to fly on another planet.
It flew 11 times more than expected.
Ravich said to AFP that he was able to manage winds higher than he had anticipated.
Ravich, who works at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), said that "I believe by flight three I had actually accomplished all our engineering goals... (and) got every information we had hoped for."
Ingenuity flew as high as 39 feet (12 metres) and its last flight lasted 2 minutes 49 seconds. It has traveled a total of 1.6 miles.
Six months of Mars-based 'Ingenuity’ helicopter flight.
Ingenuity flew its maiden one-way mission in May. It landed outside the relatively flat "airfield", which had been carefully chosen as its first home.
Not everything has been smooth. The sixth flight was a great deal of excitement.
The tiny craft was able recover after being dangerously off-balanced by a malfunction that affected the photos taken during flight to stabilize it. The problem was solved when the craft landed safely and sound.
With its high-resolution camera, Ingenuity has been sent to find Perseverance's way using its ingenious color camera.
It serves two purposes: it charts a safe path for the rover, but also provides scientific information, particularly in geological terms.
Ken Farley, the head of Perseverance’s science team explained how photos taken during Ingenuity's 12th flight revealed that a region called South Seitha was less interesting than scientists thought.
The rover may not be sent to the area.
Favorable conditions
The drone-like craft, which spent six months on the red-planet, has been featured on T-shirts and coffee cups around the world.
Why is it so long-lasting?
"The environment has been very cooperative thus far: temperatures, wind, sun, dust in the atmosphere... Ravich said that although it's still extremely cold, it could have been much worse.
The helicopter should be able continue to operate for some time, theoretically. However, the coming Martian winter is going to be difficult.
NASA engineers are currently working on the next generation of its successors, now that they have access to data from Ingenuity flights.
Ravich stated, "Something in between 20 and 30 kilograms (range), maybe, capable of carrying science payloads."
These future payloads could just contain rock samples from Perseverance.
NASA plans to recover those samples on a future mission sometime in the 2030s.
2021 AFP
