By the standard of some of its previous flights, the most recent voyage of NASA’s intrepid Ingenuity helicopter on Mars was nothing short of extraordinary. In just 24 seconds, this small marvel soared 5 meters above the dusty surface of the red planet before gracefully returning to its original spot.
But let’s not forget the incredible achievements of Ingenuity in its past flights. It has flown for nearly three minutes at a time, covering distances of up to 700 meters across the Martian terrain. Since its arrival on Mars over two years ago as part of the Perseverance mission, this helicopter has become one of NASA’s most remarkable exploration feats.
While its most recent flight may have been brief, it held great significance for Ingenuity. During its 53rd flight in late July, the helicopter had to abort a planned 136-second flight after just 76 seconds and make an emergency landing. This unexpected event made the August 3 flight all the more important.
Advertisement
After analyzing the data, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory determined that the premature landing occurred because the images from Ingenuity’s navigation camera did not match the data from its inertial measurement unit. In simpler terms, the helicopter’s on-board computer expected one thing but saw something different.
“Since the very first flight, we have included a program called ‘LAND_NOW’ that was designed to safely land the helicopter as soon as possible in case of any unexpected scenarios,” explained Teddy Tzanetos, team lead emeritus for Ingenuity. “During Flight 53, we encountered one of these scenarios, and the helicopter performed flawlessly, executing an immediate landing.”
The purpose of the helicopter’s flight last Thursday was to gather additional data about the conditions that led to the previous flight’s early termination. Following this successful mission, Tzanetos expressed confidence that Ingenuity will soon resume more challenging and ambitious flights.
There was another unexpected benefit from this short up-and-down journey. At a height of 5 meters above the surface, the helicopter captured a photo of the Martian terrain, with Perseverance visible at the top of the frame. It’s an image that evokes both desolation and hope, encapsulating the spirit of exploration.
On April 19th, the latest mission from NASA to Mars, the Ingenuity Helicopter, made history by becoming the first ever robotic aircraft to take to the skies on another planet.
The mission was almost aborted after the helicopter came effects to a potentially damaging emergency landing shortly after takeoff. However, the Ingenuity was able to make a miraculous recovery despite its initial setback.
Ingenuity lifted off at approximately 3:34 am Eastern Time and hovered in the air for approximately 10 seconds before touching down in a slightly different location than initially expected. During the landing process, the vehicle’s Legs extended in order to break its fall, potentially cushioning it from any potential damage.
Following the successful take-off, Ingenuity flew for 30 seconds at an altitude of 3 meters, ultimately reaching a maximum speed of 2.2 meters per second. During its flight path, the vehicle used a combination of its gyroscopes and rotor-tip speed sensors in order to accurately measure the vehicle’s altitude and airspeed.
This is a hugely successful milestone for Mars exploration as it marks the first time any type of robotic aircraft has been able to fly autonomously in an environment as hostile as that of the planet’s atmosphere. Ingenuity is also equipped with a Perseverance Rover-based stereo vision navigation system in order to better navigate around the planet’s surface.
Now, the team behind the mission will be attempting to further prove the viability of that technology by attempting a second test flight, this time with a much longer duration and distance.
The team is confident that its courageous efforts will lead to additional exploratory missions that will further the bounds of science and better equip us to further explore the possibilities of sending human beings to Mars.
