Ingenuity helicopter poised for maiden flight on Mars By William Harwood NASA s Mars helicopter prepares for flight
After troubleshooting a software glitch, NASA s $80 million Ingenuity helicopter will attempt its first controlled, powered flight in the ultra-thin atmosphere of Mars early Monday that could be a Wright brothers moment paving the way to future interplanetary aircraft.
Tipping the scales at just 4 pounds 1.5 pounds in the lower gravity of Mars Ingenuity s counter-rotating 4-foot-long rotors, spinning at 2,400 revolutions per minute, will be commanded to change their pitch, biting deeper into the thin atmosphere for a liftoff from the floor of Jezero Crater at 3:31 a.m. ET.
Mars Month: UAE Mission s Arrival This Week Opens Big Month For Martian Missions
KEY POINTS
The UAE s Hope mission will be the first of three to arrive on Mars s orbit
China s Tianwen-1 will follow the day after, while NASA s Mars mission will arrive next week
Together, the three missions may provide a much better picture of the Red Planet
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Hope mission is set to reach the Martian orbit this week, marking the beginning of a big month for Mars missions. It will soon be followed by China s and NASA s own Mars missions.
It was in July 2020 when the UAE, China, and the U.S. all launched respective missions set on a course for Mars. This week, the parade of Mars missions will begin the next part of the journey as the UAE s Hope mission is set to be the first to reach Mars s orbit this week.