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Ingenuity was designed to soar five times over the Martian surface as a technology demonstration. With each flight, NASA engineers were pushing the 4-pound rotorcraft as far and fast as it would go, so they anticipated that it would eventually crash.
But time and again, Ingenuity wasn t felled - not by the strong Martian winds, clouds of copper dust, or other challenges to its mechanics and navigation system. So by the end of April, NASA announced that it would extend the helicopter s life on Mars.
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Ingenuity has now embarked on a new, secondary mission to scout out Martian terrain and test operations that NASA might want to conduct with future space helicopters. That includes exploring rough areas that rovers can t access, observing interesting features of Mars from the air, and snapping photos for elevation maps.
It s scheduled to conduct its most daring flight yet within days.
Ingenuity was expected to crash last month, but the helicopter has exceeded expectations.
A month ago, NASA was preparing to sacrifice its Mars helicopter in the name of science.
Ingenuity was designed to soar five times over the Martian surface as a technology demonstration. With each flight, NASA engineers were pushing the 4-pound rotorcraft as far and fast as it would go, so they anticipated that it would eventually crash.
But time and again, Ingenuity wasn t felled not by the strong Martian winds, clouds of copper dust, or other challenges to its mechanics and navigation system. So by the end of April, NASA announced that it would extend the helicopter s life on Mars.
Simi Valley firm shows off earthly twin of NASA s Mars helicopter
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The Simi Valley firm that helped create NASA s tiny Ingenuity helicopter now buzzing around Mars has been enjoying the afterglow of a successful mission.
On Sunday night, CBS long-running news show 60 Minutes featured a segment on the space agency s current Mars adventure that included a visit by Anderson Cooper to Ventura County s AeroVironment Inc. Cooper witnessed the company s first external demonstration of its latest contraption: a twin of the Mars helicopter that operates on Earth.
Ingenuity blasted off in July with NASA s Perseverance rover and landed in a Martian crater in February. On April 19, Ingenuity whirred above ground for nearly 40 seconds, making it the first aircraft to fly on another planet.
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Engineer Matt Keennon flies Terry, which is a modified twin version of the Ingenuity helicopter which flew on Mars
Built first powered craft to fly on another planet; Modified version of it being used for research on Earth
In a football field sized building in Moorpark, a strange looking remote controlled helicopter which looks like a flying spider is making wide circles several feet in the air.
But, what s more interesting than the helicopter is the group of people watching it. They are four engineers with the Simi Valley-based aerospace company AeroVironment. They not only built this helicopter, they designed it’s cousin, “Ingenuity.” That’s the unique helicopter which a few weeks ago became the first powered craft to fly on another planet.