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Key things to know about NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter

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Issam Ahmed, Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/reuters/04/19/space-exploration-mars-helicopter.jpg"/><figcaption>The shadow of NASA&#x27;s Mars helicopter Ingenuity is seen during its first flight on the planet in this still image taken from a video on April 19, 2021. <em>NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/Handout via Reuters</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>NASA has made history by successfully flying the mini helicopter Ingenuity on Mars, the first powered flight on another planet. </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/04/19/21/nasa-aims-for-historic-helicopter-flight-on-mars">NASA aims for historic helicopter flight on Mars</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/03/05/21/fil-am-nasa-engineers-hope-to-serve-as-beam-of-hope-for-next-pinoy-scientists">Fil-Am NASA engineers hope to serve as &#x27;beam of hope&#x27; for next Pinoy scientists</a></li></ul><p>Here are some key things to know.</p><div><strong>- Proof of concept - </strong></div><p>The rotorcraft&#x27;s first flight lasted 39.1 seconds as Ingenuity lifted itself to a height of 10 feet (three meters) and then returned to the Martian surface. </p><p>While it does have the capacity to fly for 90 seconds and cover a distance of up to 980 feet (300 meters), its test runs are intentionally of limited scope as they are meant to prove only that the technology works.</p><p>Ingenuity is not gathering scientific data about Mars or aiding in the search for past microbial life.</p><p>Previous technology demonstrations include the Mars Pathfinder rover, Sojourner, which was the first ever rover to explore another planet in 1997.</p><p>It is hoped that one day, future aircraft can help revolutionize exploration of celestial bodies by going further and faster than rovers, and reaching areas hard to access by land.</p><p>NASA is already preparing to send Dragonfly, a much larger rotorcraft-lander, to Saturn&#x27;s icy moon Titan where it will fly multiple sorties in search of extraterrestrial life.</p><p>Dragonfly launches in 2026 and should reach its destination by 2034.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/04/06/21/nasas-ingenuity-helicopter-survives-first-night-alone-on-mars">NASA&#x27;s Ingenuity helicopter survives first night alone on Mars</a></li></ul><div><strong>- Engineering marvel - </strong></div><p>Tucked under the belly of the Perseverance rover, Ingenuity&#x27;s first goal was to withstand launch from Earth, the cruise through space, and landing on Mars.</p><p>Next, it had to be unlocked and deployed on the Martian surface while Perseverance drove away fast enough to ensure it didn&#x27;t cast a shadow over Ingenuity that would have prevented the aircraft&#x27;s solar panels charging up.</p><p>That was necessary so Ingenuity could run its internal heaters to survive in the chilling Martian night. </p><p>Temperatures at the Jezero Crater, just north of the equator, plunge to minus 130 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 90 degrees Celsius), which would have cracked the chopper&#x27;s exposed electronics.</p><p>Achieving lift in Mars&#x27; rarefied atmosphere -- which is just one percent the density of Earth&#x27;s, was a major technological challenge.</p><p>Engineers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory spent six years developing a craft that is ultra light yet still powerful enough to accomplish the feat.</p><p>Its rotors, which span four feet (1.2 meters), spin at 2,400 rpm -- about five times more than a helicopter on Earth. The structure stands 19 inches (0.49 meters) high and weighs just four pounds (1.8 kilograms).</p><p>Ingenuity does get a helping hand from Mars&#x27; weak gravity, which is just one-third of Earth&#x27;s.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/03/06/21/scientists-look-beyond-solar-system-for-traces-of-life">Scientists look beyond solar system for traces of life</a></li></ul><div><strong>- Software glitch -</strong></div><p>Ingenuity&#x27;s first flight was planned for April 11, however, it was postponed after the chopper failed to successfully execute a planned high-speed spin-up test of the rotors on April 9.</p><p>NASA identified a software issue -- namely a problem with the aircraft&#x27;s &quot;watchdog timer&quot; which alerts Ingenuity to potential problems and pauses its processes if it thinks it has detected an error.</p><p>Engineers made a coding tweak that allowed Ingenuity to overcome the problem and transition to &quot;flight mode&quot; correctly. </p><p>But the Ingenuity team, led by Burmese-American engineer MiMi Aung, were only 85 percent sure this solution would work.</p><p>They had another idea -- familiar to IT managers everywhere -- in case it did not: reinstalling the flight software and rebooting.</p><p>Since it is so far from Earth and cannot be piloted by a human, Ingenuity is pre-programmed with certain parameters, and then it also makes key decisions by itself during the flight, using sensor and camera data.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/04/17/21/nasa-chooses-spacex-to-take-humans-back-to-moon">NASA chooses SpaceX to take humans back to Moon</a></li></ul><div><strong>- A (literal) piece of history -</strong></div><p>More than a month after Ingenuity reached Mars, NASA announced a surprise: wrapped around a cable under the helicopter&#x27;s solar panel is a small swatch of fabric that was once part of the wing of the Wright brothers&#x27; 1903 flyer.</p><p>This aircraft traveled 120 feet (36 meters) in a 12 second hop over the sand-covered Outer Banks of North Carolina, ushering in the era of powered flight on Earth.</p><p>&quot;As an homage to the two innovative bicycle makers from Dayton, this first of many airfields on other worlds will now be known as Wright Brothers Field,&quot; announced NASA Associate Administrator Thomas Zurbuchen after Ingenuity&#x27;s maiden voyage.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/04/12/21/work-begins-now-uae-selects-1st-arab-woman-for-astronaut-training">‘Work begins now’: UAE selects 1st Arab woman for astronaut training</a></li></ul><div><strong>FROM THE ARCHIVES</strong><br/> </div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1624595" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

<p>NASA has made history by successfully flying the mini helicopter Ingenuity on Mars, the first powered flight on another planet. <br /> </p>

NASA has made history by successfully flying the mini helicopter Ingenuity on Mars, the first powered flight on another planet.

Key things to know about NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter

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Key things to know about NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter

Issam Ahmed,

Agence France-Presse

Published April 20, 2021 05:23 AM PHT

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NASA

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Ingenuity

Mars Helicopter

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