Jezero Crater, a former bed of lakes on Mars and the current location of the Perseverance rover and the Ingenuity helicopter, can drop to temperatures below 130 degrees Fahrenheit. It is low enough to cause significant damage to the electrical and battery components of the helicopter.
The 4-pound helicopter finally broke away on April 3 from the belly of the Perseverance rover, where it has been hidden since before the rover was launched from Earth in July.
The ingenuity went through a series of movements to unfold from below the rover, which looked like the metamorphosis of a butterfly, before dropping the final 4 centimeters to the Martian surface.
“This is the first time Ingenuity has been alone on the surface of Mars,” MiMi Aung, project manager for Ingenuity at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, said in a statement. “But now we have confirmation that we have the right insulation, the right heaters and enough energy in the battery to survive the cold night, which is a big win for the team. We are delighted to continue preparing the wit for your first flight test. “
The ingenuity, the first rotor apparatus sent to Mars, presented a challenge to the engineers who designed it for various reasons. It had to be small enough to stand under the rover without jeopardizing the mission of Perseverance, which is the first to look for evidence of ancient microbial life on Mars.
The ingenuity also had to be light to be able to fly through the Martian atmosphere, which has only 1% of the atmosphere present on Earth, although it had enough power to warm up and survive in the Martian atmosphere. frigid Martian nights. The fine nature of the atmosphere on Mars makes it more difficult to generate lift and rise.
Shortly after Perseverance deposited the ingenuity in the center of its airfield, the rover withdrew from the helicopter. This allowed the helicopter’s solar network to collect critical sunlight.
Perseverance sent images of the four legs of the helicopter sitting on the surface on April 4th. The helicopter’s blades, currently stacked on top of each other, will be released on April 7, and the Earth mission team will send orders to the helicopter to “move” the blades.
The helicopter also has to go through some boxes of its computers, which will help Ingenuity to fly autonomously through the Martian atmosphere.
Now that the device does not lend energy and heat to the engine, the helicopter will return information about the performance of its power and thermal control systems over the next two days. This will allow the helicopter equipment to configure the necessary parameters to ensure that the craft survives the next 30 days of its mission.
The ingenuity is a technological demonstration, meaning its mission is short compared to the rover’s two-year plan to explore the Jezero crater. Now that the helicopter is on the Martian surface, it has 31 Earth days, or 30 Martian suns, to perform up to five test flights.
During the first flight, the helicopter will attempt to soar about 3 feet into the air from the middle of the 10-by-10-meter, 33-by-33-foot flat airfield, make a turn and tap back. The test should last about 30 seconds. Future flights will test the helicopter’s ability to fly longer and longer.
Meanwhile, the Perseverance rover will sit in a nearby lookout and watch the flight, capturing images, video and audio. Those will arrive on Earth in the days following the first flight.
Once Ingenuity’s journey is complete, the rover will focus on its scientific mission and begin studying rocks and collecting samples that future missions will return to Earth.
“Our 30-sun test schedule is set with exciting milestones,” Teddy Tzanetos, deputy director of operations for JPL’s Ingenuity Mars helicopter, said in a statement. “Whatever the future holds, we will acquire all the flight data we can within that timeframe.”