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<\/a>Ingenuity, a technology experiment, is preparing to attempt the first powered, controlled flight on the Red Planet.<\/p>\n
When NASA\u2019s Perseverance rover lands on Mars on Feb. 18, 2021, it will be carrying a small but mighty passenger: Ingenuity, the Mars Helicopter.<\/p>\n
The helicopter, which weighs about 4 pounds (1.8 kilograms) on Earth and has a fuselage about the size of a tissue box, started out six years ago as an implausible prospect. Engineers at NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California knew it was theoretically possible to fly in Mars\u2019 thin atmosphere, but no one was sure whether they could build a vehicle powerful enough to fly, communicate, and survive autonomously with the extreme restrictions on its mass.<\/p>\n
Then the team had to prove in Earthbound tests that it could fly in a Mars-like environment. Now that they\u2019ve checked off those objectives, the team is preparing to test Ingenuity in the actual environment of Mars.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur Mars Helicopter team has been doing things that have never been done before \u2013 that no one at the outset could be sure could even be done,\u201d said MiMi Aung, the Ingenuity project manager at JPL \u201cWe faced many challenges along the way that could have stopped us in our tracks. We are thrilled that we are now so close to demonstrating \u2013 on Mars \u2013 what Ingenuity can really do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ingenuity survived the intense vibrations of launch on July 30, 2020, and has passed its health checks as it waits to plunge with Perseverance through the Martian atmosphere. But the helicopter won\u2019t attempt its first flight for more than a month after landing: Engineers for the rover and helicopter need time to make sure both robots are ready.<\/p>\n
Here are the key things to know about Ingenuity as the anticipation builds:<\/p>\n
1. Ingenuity is an experimental flight test.<\/strong><\/p>\n The Mars Helicopter is what is known as a technology demonstration \u2013 a narrowly focused project that seeks to test a new capability for the first time. Previous groundbreaking technology demonstrations include the first Mars rover, Sojourner, and the Mars Cube One (MarCO) CubeSats that flew by Mars.<\/p>\n The helicopter doesn\u2019t carry science instruments and isn\u2019t part of Perseverance\u2019s science mission. Ingenuity\u2019s objective is an engineering one: to demonstrate rotorcraft flight in Mars\u2019 the extremely thin atmosphere, which has just around 1% of the density of our atmosphere on Earth.<\/p>\n Ingenuity will attempt up to five test flights within a 30-Martian-day (31-Earth-day) demonstration window. Its pioneering aspirations are similar to those of the Wright brothers’ Flyer, which achieved the first powered, controlled flight on Earth.<\/p>\n