8/13/2023 0 Comments Mars 2020 drone![]() ![]() Fortunately, there's one company that has some experience building drones that fly at such rarefied heights. Since drones require air to provide the lift that permits flying, this poses a problem. There is, however, one difficulty with flying drones on Mars: air - or rather the lack of it.Īt surface level, Mars' atmospheric density is roughly equal to the density of Earth's atmosphere at an elevation of 100,000 feet - roughly four times the height of Mount Everest. By tucking a drone aboard the Mars 2020 rover, however, NASA hopes to speed things up a bit to get out and see more stuff. Thus, Curiosity is trundling along at the leisurely pace of roughly 2 mpy (miles per year). Since landing on Mars in early August 2012, NASA reports, Curiosity has traveled a grand total of less than 12 miles. The top speed of NASA's Curiosity rover, for example, is less than 1/10th of a mile per hour. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.Exploring Mars is important work - but it's not speedy work. Charged with returning astronauts to the Moon by 2024, NASA will establish a sustained human presence on and around the Moon by 2028 through NASA's Artemis lunar exploration plans.įor more information on the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, go to:įor more information about the Perseverance Mars rover mission, go to:įor more information about NASA's Mars missions, go to: The Mars 2020 Perseverance rover mission is part of a larger program that includes missions to the Moon as a way to prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet. ![]() It will characterize the planet's climate and geology, collect samples for future return to Earth, and pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet. The rover's astrobiology mission will search for signs of past microbial life. Perseverance is a robotic scientist weighing just under 2,300 pounds (1,025 kilograms). Lockheed Martin Space provided the Mars Helicopter Delivery System. Managed by Caltech in Pasadena, California, JPL built and manages the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter for NASA. If it succeeds, Ingenuity will prove that powered, controlled flight by an aircraft can be achieved at Mars, enabling future Mars missions to potentially add an aerial dimension to their explorations with second-generation rotorcraft. The small craft will have a 30-Martian-day (31-Earth-day) experimental flight-test window. "We have a lot more firsts to go before we can attempt the first experimental flight test on another planet, but right now we are all feeling very good about the future." "This charge activity shows we have survived launch and that so far we can handle the harsh environment of interplanetary space," said MiMi Aung, the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter project manager at JPL. If Ingenuity survives the cold Martian nights during its preflight checkout, the team will proceed with testing. Once Ingenuity is deployed on Mars' surface after Perseverance touches down, its batteries will be charged solely by the helicopter's own solar panel. The 4-pound (2-kilogram) helicopter – a combination of specially designed components and off-the-shelf parts – is currently stowed on Perseverance's belly and receives its charge from the rover's power supply. "Since everything went by the book, we'll perform the same activity about every two weeks to maintain an acceptable state of charge." "This was a big milestone, as it was our first opportunity to turn on Ingenuity and give its electronics a 'test drive' since we launched on July 30," said Tim Canham, the operations lead for Mars Helicopter at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. The project has determined a low charge state is optimal for battery health during the cruise to Mars. This marks the first time the helicopter has been powered up and its batteries have been charged in the space environment.ĭuring the eight-hour operation, the performance of the rotorcraft's six lithium-ion batteries was analyzed as the team brought their charge level up to 35%. 7, one week into its near seven-month journey to Mars with the Perseverance rover. NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter received a checkout and recharge of its power system on Friday, Aug. ![]() NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Recharges Its Batteries in Flight ![]()
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