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Raumfahrt - NASA Mars Perseverance Rover 2020 Mission-Update-27

19.04.2021 / 7.00 MESZ

NASA reschedules Ingenuity helicopter’s first flight on Mars for Monday

The little helicopter arrived on Mars in February

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NASA has rescheduled the first flight of its Ingenuity Mars helicopter to April 19th at 3:30AM ET, the agency announced Saturday.

The four-pound helicopter that arrived on Mars on February 18th with its parent rover Perseverance has seen its first flight delayed a few times. It touched the surface of Mars on April 4th, and has been undergoing tests and checkouts. It survived its first night alone on Mars’ frigid surface, passing a first test of its independence from Perseverance.

The craft was scheduled to take flight April 11th, but last weekend NASA said data from a high-speed rotor test showed the test sequence ended early, as Ingenuity’s computer tried to switch from pre-flight to flight mode The date was pushed back again after Ingenuity experienced a minor software glitch.

Engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory decided to modify and reinstall Ingenuity’s flight control software, a process that took several days. NASA tweeted Friday night that Ingenuity had completed a full-speed spin test and a decision about the next flight date was forthcoming. The little helicopter has been waiting on the surface of Mars’ Jezero Crater as NASA engineers tested and reinstalled the flight software.

While Ingenuity is not the main focus of Perseverance’s mission on Mars— which is to look for signs of life and take dirt samples— the little helicopter could provide a leap forward in human exploration of Mars and other celestial bodies. Rovers like Perseverance can only move so far and don’t have details about what may lie ahead in their paths. But a small craft like Ingenuity can become like a scout, flying ahead to help the rover navigate Mars’ surface, and get to areas that other vehicles may not be able to reach.

Once it does take off, Ingenuity will climb about 10 feet (3 meters), then hover in place for 30 seconds before turning in midair and descending back to the surface. The camera on its underside will take 30 photos per second of the ground. A larger camera will face the horizon and snap photos while in flight, and at the same time Perseverance’s cameras will take pictures of Ingenuity flying.

Quelle: TheVerge

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Update: 13.00 MESZ

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„INGENUITY“ ERFOLGREICH ABGEHOBEN

Helikopter gelingt historischer Flug auf dem Mars

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Dieses Foto schreibt Geschichte: der Mars-Helikopter „Ingenuity“ schoss während des Flugs diese Aufnahme von der Mars-Oberfläche mit seinem eigenen Schatten darauf

 

Der Mars-Helikopter „Ingenuity“ ist abgehoben und für wenige Sekunden in der dünnen Atmosphäre des roten Planeten geflogen. Das zeigen Daten, die am Montag vom Mars zur Erde gefunkt wurden.

Fotos, die der Mars-Rover „Perseverance“ zur Erde funkte, zeigen, dass der Mars-Heli drei Meter hoch aufstieg und wieder aufsetzte. So kurz der Flug auch war – er war ein historisches Ereignis. Zum ersten Mal ist ein von Menschen gebautes Luftfahrzeug auf einem fernen Planeten aufgestiegen.

Der Flug war für 9.30 Uhr angesetzt, doch dass er gelungen war, stand erst gegen Mittag fest. Da kamen die ersten Daten vom Mars im Kontrollzentrum der Nasa an.

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Das Foto des Mars-Rovers „Perseverance“ zeigt den Helikopter auf der Mars-Oberfläche …Foto: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU

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… und während seines kurzen Flugs auf dem roten PlanetenFoto: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU

„Ingenuity“ war im Februar im Bauch des Rovers „Perseverance“ (deutsch: Ausdauer) auf den Mars gekommen.

Die Reise dorthin dauerte 203 Flugtage und war 472 Millionen Kilometer weit. Die beiden Nasa-Fahrzeuge stehen in einem ausgetrockneten Mars-See namens „Jezero Crater“. Diesen See mit einem Durchmesser von etwa 45 Kilometern soll „Perseverance“ in den kommenden zwei Jahren untersuchen.

Quelle: Bild

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NASA

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First Flight of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter: Live from Mission Control

Up, up, and away! The Ingenuity #MarsHelicopter is set to make history. It will make the first attempt at powered flight on another planet on Monday, April 19. Don’t miss your chance to watch live with helicopter team in mission control beginning at 6:15 a.m. EDT (10:15 a.m. UTC) as they receive the data and find out if they were successful.

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Quelle: NASA-TV

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NASA's Mars helicopter makes 1st flight on another planet

The original flight was delayed by more than a week. 

 

NASA Ingenuity makes historic first helicopter flight on Mars

The small chopper has become the first powered and controlled flight of an aircraft on a...

All systems were a go as NASA made history on the red planet Monday.

The agency launched its Ingenuity helicopter into the atmosphere of Mars around 3:30 am ET, marking the first powered, controlled flight of an aircraft on another planet.

The four-pound helicopter, which landed on the planet with the Perseverance rover in February, tested flight conditions in the planet's atmosphere, which is colder and has different levels of gravity.

The first test flight hovered at around 10 feet off the ground, according to NASA.

The flight was originally scheduled for April 11th, however, the agency had to postpone the take-off as engineers worked on preflight checks and a solution to a command sequence issue.

NASA said subsequent flight tests will be scheduled and they will be documented via high-definition cameras on the Perseverance rover.

"The Perseverance rover will provide support during flight operations, taking images, collecting environmental data, and hosting the base station that enables the helicopter to communicate with mission controllers on Earth," the agency said in a statement.

The flight was streamed live on NASA's website, as well as on its social media platforms at 6:15 a.m ET, when the data from the flight reaches Earth.

Quelle: abcNews

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Update: 21.04.2021

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NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Succeeds in Historic First Flight

 

NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter took this shot while hovering over the Martian surface on April 19, 2021
NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter captured this shot as it hovered over the Martian surface on April 19, 2021, during the first instance of powered, controlled flight on another planet. It used its navigation camera, which autonomously tracks the ground during flight.
Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Monday, NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter became the first aircraft in history to make a powered, controlled flight on another planet. The Ingenuity team at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California confirmed the flight succeeded after receiving data from the helicopter via NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover at 6:46 a.m. EDT (3:46 a.m. PDT).

 

“Ingenuity is the latest in a long and storied tradition of NASA projects achieving a space exploration goal once thought impossible,” said acting NASA Administrator Steve Jurczyk. “The X-15 was a pathfinder for the space shuttle. Mars Pathfinder and its Sojourner rover did the same for three generations of Mars rovers. We don’t know exactly where Ingenuity will lead us, but today’s results indicate the sky – at least on Mars – may not be the limit.”

 

The solar-powered helicopter first became airborne at 3:34 a.m. EDT (12:34 a.m. PDT) – 12:33 Local Mean Solar Time (Mars time) – a time the Ingenuity team determined would have optimal energy and flight conditions. Altimeter data indicate Ingenuity climbed to its prescribed maximum altitude of 10 feet (3 meters) and maintained a stable hover for 30 seconds. It then descended, touching back down on the surface of Mars after logging a total of 39.1 seconds of flight. Additional details on the test are expected in upcoming downlinks.

 

In this video captured by NASA’s Perseverance rover, the agency's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter took the first powered, controlled flight on another planet on April 19, 2021.
Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS

Ingenuity’s initial flight demonstration was autonomous – piloted by onboard guidance, navigation, and control systems running algorithms developed by the team at JPL. Because data must be sent to and returned from the Red Planet over hundreds of millions of miles using orbiting satellites and NASA’s Deep Space Network, Ingenuity cannot be flown with a joystick, and its flight was not observable from Earth in real time.

 

NASA Associate Administrator for Science Thomas Zurbuchen announced the name for the Martian airfield on which the flight took place.

 

“Now, 117 years after the Wright brothers succeeded in making the first flight on our planet, NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter has succeeded in performing this amazing feat on another world,” Zurbuchen said. “While these two iconic moments in aviation history may be separated by time and 173 million miles of space, they now will forever be linked. As an homage to the two innovative bicycle makers from Dayton, this first of many airfields on other worlds will now be known as Wright Brothers Field, in recognition of the ingenuity and innovation that continue to propel exploration.”

 

Ingenuity’s chief pilot, Håvard Grip, announced that the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) – the United Nations’ civil aviation agency – presented NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration with official ICAO designator IGY, call-sign INGENUITY.

 

These details will be included officially in the next edition of ICAO’s publication Designators for Aircraft Operating Agencies, Aeronautical Authorities and Services. The location of the flight has also been given the ceremonial location designation JZRO for Jezero Crater.

 

As one of NASA’s technology demonstration projects, the 19.3-inch-tall (49-centimeter-tall) Ingenuity Mars Helicopter contains no science instruments inside its tissue-box-size fuselage. Instead, the 4-pound (1.8-kg) rotorcraft is intended to demonstrate whether future exploration of the Red Planet could include an aerial perspective.

 

This first flight was full of unknowns. The Red Planet has a significantly lower gravity – one-third that of Earth’s – and an extremely thin atmosphere with only 1% the pressure at the surface compared to our planet. This means there are relatively few air molecules with which Ingenuity’s two 4-foot-wide (1.2-meter-wide) rotor blades can interact to achieve flight. The helicopter contains unique components, as well as off-the-shelf-commercial parts – many from the smartphone industry – that were tested in deep space for the first time with this mission.

 

“The Mars Helicopter project has gone from ‘blue sky’ feasibility study to workable engineering concept to achieving the first flight on another world in a little over six years,” said Michael Watkins, director of JPL. “That this project has achieved such a historic first is testimony to the innovation and doggedness of our team here at JPL, as well as at NASA’s Langley and Ames Research Centers, and our industry partners. It’s a shining example of the kind of technology push that thrives at JPL and fits well with NASA’s exploration goals.”

 

Parked about 211 feet (64.3 meters) away at Van Zyl Overlook during Ingenuity’s historic first flight, the Perseverance rover not only acted as a communications relay between the helicopter and Earth, but also chronicled the flight operations with its cameras. The pictures from the rover’s Mastcam-Z and Navcam imagers will provide additional data on the helicopter’s flight.   

 

“We have been thinking for so long about having our Wright brothers moment on Mars, and here it is,” said MiMi Aung, project manager of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter at JPL. “We will take a moment to celebrate our success and then take a cue from Orville and Wilbur regarding what to do next. History shows they got back to work – to learn as much as they could about their new aircraft – and so will we.”

 

Perseverance touched down with Ingenuity attached to its belly on Feb. 18. Deployed to the surface of Jezero Crater on April 3, Ingenuity is currently on the 16th sol, or Martian day, of its 30-sol (31-Earth day) flight test window. Over the next three sols, the helicopter team will receive and analyze all data and imagery from the test and formulate a plan for the second experimental test flight, scheduled for no earlier than April 22. If the helicopter survives the second flight test, the Ingenuity team will consider how best to expand the flight profile.

 

More About Ingenuity

 

JPL, which built Ingenuity, also manages the technology demonstration project for NASA. It is supported by NASA’s Science, Aeronautics, and Space Technology mission directorates. The agency’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley and Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, provided significant flight performance analysis and technical assistance during Ingenuity’s development.

 

Dave Lavery is the program executive for the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, MiMi Aung is the project manager, and Bob Balaram is chief engineer.

Quelle: NASA

 

 

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