Given its astonishing and unexpected success, NASA has extended the Ingenuity mission indefinitely. The tiny helicopter has become a regular traveling companion for the Perseverance mission rover, whose main mission is to look for signs of ancient life on Mars.
“Everything worked really well. We researched better on the surface than we expected,” said Ingenuity’s head of mechanical engineering, Josh Ravich, quoted from the press release. Phys on Monday (6/9).
Hundreds of people contribute to the Ingenuity project, though only about a dozen currently maintain the day-to-day role. Ravich joined the team five years ago.
“When I got the chance to work on a helicopter project, I think I had the same reaction as everyone else: ‘Is that possible?'” Ravich said.
His initial doubts were understandable. Because the air on Mars has a density equivalent to only one percent of Earth’s atmosphere. In comparison, flying a helicopter on Mars would be like flying a helicopter in thin air nearly 30 kilometers above Earth.
In addition, it is not easy to reach Mars in the first place. Ingenuity had to withstand the initial shock of takeoff from Earth, and then its February 18 landing on the red planet after a seven-month voyage through space.
Once in its new environment, the tiny 1.8-kilogram helicopter must survive the frigid Martian nights by drawing warmth from the solar panels that charge its batteries during the day. The flight is guided using a series of sensors.
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