NASA has crossed a new milestone on Mars

The Ingenuity helicopter drone has made its 10th flight, covering one mile (1,609 kilometers). A milestone in the exploration of the Red Planet

(image: Nasa / Jpl-Caltech) Ingenuity made it again this time. Last weekend, NASA's helicopter drone completed its tenth flight in the atmosphere of Mars, the most technically difficult so far and which allowed it to complete its first mile (1.609 kilometers). Ingenuity surprised even its creators by proving capable of continuing to fly far beyond expectations.

The #MarsHelicopter's success today marks its 1-mile total distance flown. It targeted an area called "Raised Ridges." This is the most complex flight yet w / 10 distinct waypoints and a record height of 40 ft (12 m). Its scouting is aiding @NASAPersevere. https://t.co/tboEcnLvx3 pic.twitter.com/Wc6tDVimIT

- NASA JPL (@NASAJPL) July 25, 2021

Beyond every expectation

Ingenuity was a bet for NASA, a challenge that can be said to be won. The helicopter drone, in fact, was designed to perform 5 flights with increasing difficulty. Its technologies would be put to the test to test the limits of speed and endurance and collect information to design future Martian aircraft.

It was therefore expected that already on the fourth / fifth flight Ingenuity would crash somewhere part. Instead, he amazed everyone and came to complete his tenth flight, the one that allowed him to reach the significant distance of 1 mile (1.609 kilometers) flying in the Martian atmosphere.

Ingenuity has survived 107 Martian days so far (76 more than expected) and has also successfully performed two software updates that have improved its flight and imaging capabilities. At this point it is likely that NASA will continue to fly it as long as it holds up. From a simple demonstration mission, therefore, that of Ingenuity has turned into a full-fledged exploration, in support of the Perseverance rover which is scanning the surface of the Jezero crater and collecting samples hunting (also) for traces of alien life in the past. of Mars.

Flight number 10

According to the program published by NASA, the tenth flight of Ingenuity lasted about 2 minutes and 45 seconds. It was the most complex flight of the small drone, which touched 10 waypoints. The helicopter climbed to a record height of 12 meters and headed south-southwest for 50 meters to take photographs of the Raised Ripple, rock formations that may have once been water channels.

(Image: Ingenuity's tenth flight path and waypoint over the Jezero / Nasa / Jpl-Caltech / University of Arizona crater) In the subsequent stages of the journey Ingenuity continued to acquire images that will be combined by experts from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (Jpl) of NASA to obtain useful images to define the routes of the Perseverance rover and for future exploration missions. Finally he landed in a new location (the seventh) 95 meters west of the starting point.


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Topics

Drones Mars Perseverance Space globalData.fldTopic = "Drones, Mars, Perseverance, Space "

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