The Ingenuity helicopter, which exceeded expectations on Mars, is preparing for its 29th flight on the red planet. Before taking to the skies above the surface of the Red Planet again, the quadcopter transmitted a video of its longest and fastest flight.
On April 8, the Ingenuity helicopter, making its 25th record-breaking flight, covered a record distance of 704 meters while flying at a speed of 5.5 meters per second.
“On our record-breaking flight, Ingenuity’s downward navigation camera gave us a breathtaking sense of what it would be like to glide 33 feet above the surface of Mars at 12 miles per hour,” said Teddy Tzanetos, Ingenuity team leader. in a statement.
The black and white video was captured by the quadcopter’s navigation camera, which starts after a second of flight. After reaching an altitude of 10 meters, the helicopter heads southwest, accelerating and reaching full speed in less than three seconds. The ship first flies over a group of sand ripples and then reaches several rocky fields.
The 161.3 second flight video was sped up approximately five times, reducing it to less than 35 seconds. NASA announced that the navigation camera has been programmed to deactivate whenever the spacecraft is less than a meter from the surface. This action helps ensure that any dust raised during take-off and landing does not interfere with the navigation system as it tracks features on the ground.
“On our record-breaking flight, Ingenuity’s navigation camera gave us the sensation of gliding 33 feet above the surface of Mars and at 12 miles per hour,” said Ingenuity team leader Teddy Tzanetos from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. of NASA in Southern California.
Completing more than a year on the Martian surface, the quadcopter’s mission has been extended. NASA has extended the Ingenuity helicopter’s operation on Mars until September, where it will support the Perseverance rover in its scientific operations trying to look for evidence of ancient microbial life in the inhospitable terrain.
Source: NASA
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