Jakarta –
Ingenuity, the first helicopter on Mars, managed to land smoothly on the surface of the Red Planet.
Quoted from Space.com, NASA’s helicopter landed on the surface of Mars by being dropped by its mother ship, the Perseverance rover robot. The helicopter’s first flight is scheduled for another week.
“#MarsHelicopter landing confirmed! The journey of 471 million kilometers over @NASAPersevere ends with a 10 cm drop from Perseverance’s belly to the surface. Mars today, “said NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory Twitter account.
Ingenuity is a small, 1.8 kilogram, solar-powered helicopter that relies on rechargeable batteries to keep its system warm during the harsh Martian night conditions.
Before landing, Ingenuity resides in Perseverance’s stomach while keeping the roobot explorer warm. Currently, the helicopter uses an internal battery to power the vital heater in its body.
“This heater keeps Ingenuity’s interior against the cold of the night on Mars, where temperatures can drop to minus 90 degrees Celsius. This heater also protects key components such as batteries and some sensitive electronics from the dangers of extremely cold temperatures,” said Bob Balaram from NASA, Mars Helicopter project chief engineer.
Ingenuity is scheduled to make its first flight on April 11, and data from that flight is expected to arrive to Earth the next day on April 12.
To note, this USD 85 million drone is the first helicopter to be sent into space and is designed to test future flying vehicle technology on other planets, one of which is Mars. Ingenuity is equipped with two cameras to document its flight, which the Perseverance rover will also observe.
Watch Video “Sound of Wind Recorded from Mars“
[Gambas:Video 20detik]
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