AS IMPORTANT AS THE MOONLANDING
Mars helicopter makes history with first powered flight on another planet
...Mars helicopter performed its first test flight at 3:30 a.m. ET, on Monday, April 19.
SIXTY YEARS SINCE THE FIRST MAN IN SPACE
Scott Sutherland
THE WEATHER NETWORK
4/19/2021
The day has finally arrived! Ingenuity, the little helicopter that tagged along to Mars with NASA's Perseverance rover, has now made history by achieving the first powered flight on another planet.
All about Mars: The objective of the mars perseverance rover
This story has been updated.
Ingenuity, the Mars Helicopter, is a ground-breaking technology demonstration to test powered, controlled flight on Mars. This is something that was once thought to be impossible, due to Mars' extremely thin atmosphere. The mission team has now proved that this is, indeed, possible, and this could lead to new types of exploration on Mars.
© Provided by The Weather Network
Perseverance's first rover selfie, on April 6, 2021, included Ingenuity in the picture (also shown enlarged in the inset). Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Scott Sutherland
After a few delays, the Mars helicopter performed its first test flight at 3:30 a.m. ET, on Monday, April 19.
During this test, Ingenuity spun its twin rotors up to 2,500 revolutions per minute (roughly three times the rpm of helicopters on Earth). This generated enough lift for the helicopter to rise up into the air to a height of 3 metres above the ground. Ingenuity then hovered, pivoting towards Perseverance in the process, and gently lowered itself back to the ground.
After a few delays, the Mars helicopter performed its first test flight at 3:30 a.m. ET, on Monday, April 19.
During this test, Ingenuity spun its twin rotors up to 2,500 revolutions per minute (roughly three times the rpm of helicopters on Earth). This generated enough lift for the helicopter to rise up into the air to a height of 3 metres above the ground. Ingenuity then hovered, pivoting towards Perseverance in the process, and gently lowered itself back to the ground.
© Provided by The Weather Network
This still image from the Mastcam-Z video shows Ingenuity hovering above the surface. Visible on the ground beneath it is the helicopter's shadow. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
"We can now say that human beings have flown a rotorcraft on another planet!" said Mimi Aung, Project Manager of the Mars Helicopter Ingenuity at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
The data from this flight was relayed to Earth via Perseverance and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, arriving shortly after 6:30 a.m. ET. The data to confirm the successful test consisted of a simple graph that showed the helicopter's altitude with time. Images taken by the downward-facing cameras on the helicopter were also transmitted back to Earth.
"We can now say that human beings have flown a rotorcraft on another planet!" said Mimi Aung, Project Manager of the Mars Helicopter Ingenuity at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
The data from this flight was relayed to Earth via Perseverance and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, arriving shortly after 6:30 a.m. ET. The data to confirm the successful test consisted of a simple graph that showed the helicopter's altitude with time. Images taken by the downward-facing cameras on the helicopter were also transmitted back to Earth.
The best view of this flight, though, was provided by the Perseverance rover, via its high-resolution Mastcam-Z camera. Watch the flight, below:
DELAYS
Originally, Ingenuity was scheduled for its first test flight on Sunday, April 11. In the days leading up to this, however, it ran into a problem while testing its systems.
Originally, Ingenuity was scheduled for its first test flight on Sunday, April 11. In the days leading up to this, however, it ran into a problem while testing its systems.
© Provided by The Weather Network
The Mars Helicopter, imaged by one of Perseverance's navigation cameras (Navcams) on April 5, 2021. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Scott Sutherland
According to NASA, "During a high-speed spin test of the rotors on Friday, the command sequence controlling the test ended early due to a 'watchdog' timer expiration. This occurred as it was trying to transition the flight computer from 'Pre-Flight' to 'Flight' mode. The helicopter is safe and healthy and communicated its full telemetry set to Earth."
Based on this, the first flight was delayed until at least April 14.
In an update on April 12, NASA said that they found a way to program a solution to the problem that occurred. This required the new program to be validated and transmited to Ingenuity, and then the tiny drone would be rebooted for the new programming to take effect. Since this process was expected to take some time to complete, they delayed the date of the first test flight sometime during the week of April 19.
FIRST POWERED FLIGHT
While several missions so far can be said to have 'flown' through Mars' atmosphere, everything that came before Ingenuity would be more appropriately called 'controlled falling'.
According to NASA, "During a high-speed spin test of the rotors on Friday, the command sequence controlling the test ended early due to a 'watchdog' timer expiration. This occurred as it was trying to transition the flight computer from 'Pre-Flight' to 'Flight' mode. The helicopter is safe and healthy and communicated its full telemetry set to Earth."
Based on this, the first flight was delayed until at least April 14.
In an update on April 12, NASA said that they found a way to program a solution to the problem that occurred. This required the new program to be validated and transmited to Ingenuity, and then the tiny drone would be rebooted for the new programming to take effect. Since this process was expected to take some time to complete, they delayed the date of the first test flight sometime during the week of April 19.
FIRST POWERED FLIGHT
While several missions so far can be said to have 'flown' through Mars' atmosphere, everything that came before Ingenuity would be more appropriately called 'controlled falling'.
Provided by The Weather Network
In this computer simulation, Ingenuity is shown flying a short distance away from the Perseverance rover. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Ingenuity was the first attempt at true powered, controlled flight on another planet.
So, why even test such a thing?
With powered flight an actual possibility on Mars, this opens up a new facet to surface missions that we haven't explored yet. Perhaps in the future, every new rover or lander will include a helicopter companion that can quickly explore and scout around where its primary is located. Or, perhaps we fill a Pathfinder-style lander with a swarm of helicopters that can fan out and quickly explore a wide area in a short amount of time.
Ingenuity was the first attempt at true powered, controlled flight on another planet.
So, why even test such a thing?
With powered flight an actual possibility on Mars, this opens up a new facet to surface missions that we haven't explored yet. Perhaps in the future, every new rover or lander will include a helicopter companion that can quickly explore and scout around where its primary is located. Or, perhaps we fill a Pathfinder-style lander with a swarm of helicopters that can fan out and quickly explore a wide area in a short amount of time.
NOT THE IDEAL ENVIRONMENT
Mars does not have the best environment for flight. It's cold and dusty, and this combination can put off some impressive static charge. These conditions can test the electronic hardware of any robot, especially that of a small helicopter drone.
The biggest challenge that Ingenuity faced, though, was the planet's atmosphere. The atmosphere of Mars has less than one per cent of the surface pressure of Earth's atmosphere.
Mars does not have the best environment for flight. It's cold and dusty, and this combination can put off some impressive static charge. These conditions can test the electronic hardware of any robot, especially that of a small helicopter drone.
The biggest challenge that Ingenuity faced, though, was the planet's atmosphere. The atmosphere of Mars has less than one per cent of the surface pressure of Earth's atmosphere.
Provided by The Weather Network
This image taken by the Viking 1 orbiter in June 1976 provides a glimpse of Mars' thin, dusty atmosphere from space. Credit: NASA/Viking 1.
This has been a challenge for all missions that have landed on the planet. There's just barely enough air there for heat shields and parachutes to function properly, so every mission has needed something extra beyond those measures. For Pathfinder & Sojourner, Spirit, and Opportunity, airbags allowed the robots to bounce across the surface and eventually roll to a stop. The more massive Curiosity and Perseverance rovers required the impressive 'powered sky crane' maneuvers to touch down intact and safe.
This has been a challenge for all missions that have landed on the planet. There's just barely enough air there for heat shields and parachutes to function properly, so every mission has needed something extra beyond those measures. For Pathfinder & Sojourner, Spirit, and Opportunity, airbags allowed the robots to bounce across the surface and eventually roll to a stop. The more massive Curiosity and Perseverance rovers required the impressive 'powered sky crane' maneuvers to touch down intact and safe.
Ingenuity attempted something none of these other missions had tried, though.
Now, the mission team didn't going into this blindly, of course. They tested Ingenuity in a special chamber at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, known as the Space Simulator. In this immense sealed chamber, they recreated the cold, low-pressure atmospheric conditions that Ingenuity will encounter on Mars and then tailored the small helicopter to fly in those conditions.
The question of whether it will actually work in the real environment has now been answered! Watch for more updates in the days to come.
No comments:
Post a Comment