![]() ![]() Lockheed Space designed and manufactured the Mars Helicopter Delivery System.Īt NASA Headquarters, Dave Lavery is the program executive for the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter.About NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory - NASAJPL AeroVironment Inc., Qualcomm, and SolAero also provided design assistance and major vehicle components. NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley and NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, provided significant flight performance analysis and technical assistance during Ingenuity’s development. It is supported by NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter was built by JPL, which also manages the project for NASA Headquarters. What I can predict is that when it does, we’ll have one heck of a party.” More About Ingenuity Whether Ingenuity’s mission ends tomorrow, next week, or months from now is something no one can predict at present. “But we have known since the very beginning our time at Mars was limited, and every operational day is a blessing. “We have come so far, and we want to go farther,” said Tzanetos. With some helicopter components showing signs of wear and the terrain becoming more challenging, the Ingenuity team recognizes that every great mission must eventually come to an end. Surpassing expectations like this comes at a cost, however. “We have exceeded our expected cumulative flight time since our technology demonstration wrapped by 1,250% and expected distance flown by 2,214%.” “When we first flew, we thought we would be incredibly lucky to eke out five flights,” said Teddy Tzanetos, Ingenuity team lead at JPL. The rotorcraft has flown for over 89 minutes and more than 7.1 miles (11.6 kilometers). Feats of Ingenuityīuilt with many off-the-shelf components, such as smartphone processors and cameras, Ingenuity is now 23 Earth months and 45 flights beyond its expected lifetime. It is currently headed to “Mount Julian,” which will provide a panoramic view into nearby Belva Crater. Perseverance recently completed exploring “Foel Drygarn,” a scientific target that may contain hydrated silica (which is of strong astrobiological interest). So it’s imperative Ingenuity keeps up and is in the lead whenever possible.” The rover team has a job to do and a schedule to keep. “If the rover gets too far ahead or disappears behind a hill, we could lose communications. “Ingenuity relies on Perseverance to act as a communications relay between it and mission controllers here at JPL,” said Anderson. With its AutoNav capability, Perseverance can travel hundreds of meters each day. And while we recently upgraded the navigation software onboard to help determine safe airfields, every flight is still a white-knuckler.” Frequent Flyerīeyond facing more challenging terrain, Ingenuity will also fly at a greater frequency in the coming days because the helicopter needs to remain within electronic earshot of the rover. “We’re flying over the dried-up remnants of an ancient river that is filled with sand dunes, boulders, and rocks, and surrounded by hills that could have us for lunch. “We are not in Martian Kansas anymore,” said Josh Anderson, Ingenuity operations lead at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. And when the helicopter does fly, it now must navigate rugged and relatively uncharted terrain, landing in spots that can be surrounded by hazards. As a result, the Helicopter Base Station on the rover needs to search for the rotorcraft’s signal each morning at the time Ingenuity is predicted to wake up. 19, Ingenuity has flown 11 times, setting new speed and altitude records of 14.5 mph (6.5 meters per second) and 59 feet (18 meters) along the way.Īlthough the deep chill of winter and regional dust events (which can block the Sun’s rays from reaching the helicopter’s solar panel) have abated, Ingenuity continues to brown out at night. Since leaving the relatively flat confines of Jezero Crater’s floor on Jan. That includes the people designing the Mars Sample Return campaign’s proposed Sample Recovery Helicopters. By testing the helicopter’s limits, engineers are gathering flight data that can be used by engineers working on designs for possible future Mars helicopters. ![]()
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