The mini helicopter weighs only 1.8 kilos and looks like a drone.
The plan is for the helicopter to lift three meters straight up from the planet’s surface, hover and rotate for 30 seconds and take a picture of Perserverance.
The flight will take place the night before Monday, Swedish time, and is pre-programmed. The signal delay from the ground amounts to 15 minutes and makes it impossible to control the mini-helicopter in real time.
– Mars is difficult, not only when you have to land but also when you try to take off and fly around, says NASA’s project manager MiMi Aung.
Has passed all tests
Mars has significantly lower gravity and air pressure at the ground surface less than 1 percent of the Earth. The thin atmosphere means that Ingenuity’s rotor blades have to spin at a much higher speed for the helicopter to be able to take off.
But Ingenuity has so far passed all the tests and seems to be ready for the first flight on another planet.
– The only uncertainty is the actual conditions on Mars, says MiMi Aung and mentions the possibility that winds can disrupt the mine helicopter.
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