![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Lift off for the first time in the thin Martian atmosphere. Spin up its rotor blades for the first time (to a speed below what would be needed for flight). Confirm communications with the rover and flight operators on Earth. ![]() Charge (autonomously) using its solar panel. Keep warm (autonomously) through the intensely cold Martian nights (as frigid as minus 130 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 90 degrees Celsius). Deploy safely to the Martian surface from the belly pan of the Perseverance rover and unfold from its stowed position correctly. Survive launch, cruise to Mars and landing on the Red Planet. (done)ģ - Extend two of four landing legs (done)Ĥ - A small electric motor will finish rotating Ingenuity until it latches, bringing the helicopter completely vertical ( done) (done)ĥ - Final two landing legs will snap into position (done)Ħ - The helicopter will hang suspended at about 13 centimeters over the Martian surface (done)ħ - Final opportunity to utilize Perseverance as a power source and charge Ingenuity’s six battery cellĩ - Check if Ingenuity’s four legs are firmly on the surface of Jezero Craterġ0 - Check if the rover did drive about 5 meters awayġ1 - Check if both helicopter and rover are communicating via their onboard radiosġ2 - Receive the final flight instructions from JPL mission controllers through Perseveranceġ3 - Survive the first night of the sequence period on the surface of Marsġ4 - Wiggle the rotor blades and verifying the performance of the inertial measurement unitġ5 - Test the entire rotor system during a spin-up to 2537 rpm (while Ingenuity’s landing gear remain firmly on the surface) (*)ġ7 - If all final self-checks look good, lift offġ8 - Climb at a rate of about 1 meter per secondĢ0 - Hover at 3 meters above the surface for up to 30 seconds.Ģ1 - Descend and touch back down on the Martian surface (done)Ģ - Fire a cable-cutting pyrotechnic device, enabling the mechanized arm that holds Ingenuity to begin rotating the Helicopter out of its horizontal position. The helicopter and rover are scheduled to launch in July 2020 and land on Mars seven months later.(but it's not a problem, it's not "13 centimeters above ground", legs appear to be just 3 cm above ground maybe the body is at 13 cm).ġ - Release the locking mechanism that helped hold the helicopter firmly against the rover’s belly during launch and Mars landing. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has been developing the helicopter since 2013, and eventually shrunk the fuselage to around the size of a softball to help make the drone viable. The agency will test the drone over a 30-day period and try up to four additional flights, eventually hoping to keep the helicopter in the air for as long as 90 seconds and let it roam for a few hundred meters.Ī successful test could open the door to using helicopters as scouts on future missions, surveying terrain that might be difficult for rovers to navigate and even accessing locations that are unreachable via ground travel. NASA hopes the helicopter will ascend to around 10 feet and hover there for around 30 seconds on its first flight. Once the drone has charged its batteries using solar cells and run through some tests, the rover will relay commands to it from controllers on Earth. NASA also packed in a heating mechanism to help the drone survive the frigid Mars nights.Īfter the rover lands, it will place the helicopter on the ground and retreat to a safe distance. That high blade rotation is important to get the helicopter airborne because of the low atmospheric density on Mars - when the drone's on the ground, it'll already be at an Earth-equivalent altitude of 100,000 feet. The drone weighs 1.8 kilograms (just under four pounds) and the dual, counter-rotating blades will spin at around 3,000 rpm, roughly 10 times the rate of a regular helicopter. The agency is bundling an autonomous helicopter with the Mars 2020 rover to test airborne vehicles on the red planet. The next vehicle NASA is sending to Mars nestles somewhere between a rover and a satellite, at least in terms of altitude. ![]()
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