5 Amazing Features of Ingenuity’s Mars Helicopter

In April 2021, an event took place that is very important in the history of human development. The Ingenuity helicopter sent to Mars was able to make its first flight on the Red Planet – until that moment, scientists doubted that Earth-like aircraft could operate in such conditions. This event is almost as important as the successful flight of the world’s first Flyer 1 aircraft in December 1903. Now, the first helicopter of its kind is flying around Mars for a reason. It helps the powerful Perseverance rover to lay an easy route on the surface of the Lake crater. And all this time, it never ceases to amaze, it shows incredible opportunities that the mission leaders did not even know about.

Ingenuity Flies Great on Mars  

Since we have touched on the topic of flights on the Red Planet, let’s talk about this in more detail. The Martian helicopter Ingenuity has a mass of 1.8 kilograms and, despite this, currently has made 29 successful flights. In total, it stayed in the air for 54 minutes and, during this time, covered a distance of 6,988 meters. In the future, these figures will increase even more, even during winter on Mars, which leads us to the next point.

Ingenuity Works Even in Winter 

In May 2022, the mission leaders decided that it would be better for the Ingenuity helicopter to save energy during the winter. So, the heating system was partially turned off for less energy consumption generated by solar panels. Yes, this step could lead to a breakdown of the internal components of the structure, but the engineers chose the lesser of two evils.

The fears were not in vain – in early June, the inclinometer broke down near the helicopter. It is the name of a device designed to measure the angle of inclination of various objects, in this case, the aircraft itself. However, as a result of the 29th flight, it turned out that the rover could fly without this component, even in winter conditions. The flight at the height of ten meters lasted 66.6 seconds – during this time, the helicopter covered 179 meters at a speed of 5.5 meters per second.

Ingenuity Is Equipped with Cameras  

The Martian aircraft is equipped with two optical instruments. The first is a survey camera with a 13-megapixel Sony IMX 214 matrix – with it, it can take color pictures and send them to Earth. The second instrument is the navigation camera, which sees the planets in black and white. With their help, the device can take photos of scientifically exciting objects on the surface of Mars and, of course, help the Perseverance rover travel only to the most convenient places.

Ingenuity Is Durable  

Initially, it was assumed that the Ingenuity helicopter would try to fly around Mars, and that’s it – nothing more would be required. But it was very good at the job, so they decided to exploit it further. It has been on the Red Planet for more than a year, and during this time, it encountered problems several times.

The biggest problem occurred when the Martian spring began to spill over into summer one day. The already rarefied Martian atmosphere became even thinner, and the usual speed of rotation of the blades became insufficient for flight. But the problem was easily solved by increasing the frequency to 2700 rpm. True, at a high frequency of rotation, the helicopter flies slower – this is necessary to prevent the engine from overheating.

Ingenuity Flies Despite Poor Navigation  

The Martian helicopter is not automatic – the NASA agency sends commands and executes them. The software of the apparatus was set up on Earth, on completely flat ground. Since it was planned to use the device for a short time, the engineers did not particularly bother with its navigation system, but in vain. Because of this, the Ingenuity helicopter has errors when flying over the uneven surfaces of Mars today. Therefore, the mission leaders deliberately slow it down over the rocky parts of the planet. Nevertheless, even despite its imperfection, the NASA helicopter copes with its tasks perfectly.