Vertiflite May/June 2021

INGENUITYTAKES OFFONMARS

Preparing for Success Since NASA began exploring Mars, it has sent five rovers that landed on the surface, including Perseverance. Four operated successfully and sent back valuable data for future endeavors. This mission is markedly different, with a fragile co-axial rotorcraft sharing equal billing with the robust 2,260-lb (1,025- kg) Perseverance. Weighing just 4 lb (1.8 kg) on Earth and 1.5 lb (680 grams) on the Red Planet, Ingenuity has a rotor diameter of about 4 ft (1.2 m). Its solar panel, mounted above the rotors, charges its Lithium-ion batteries, which use about 350 Watts of power and provides enough energy in one Martian day for one 90-second flight. Rotorcraft can certainly add a helpful component to a planetary exploration mission. “Using a helicopter is a faster and more effective means for mapping than the rover,” said Joshua Ravich, Ingenuity’s mechanical engineering lead at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California. “The helicopter opens up a lot of potential for exploration of Mars.” After entering the Martian atmosphere with a heat shield on Feb. 18, 2021 — slowing to 1,000 mph (1,600 km/hr) — Perseverance deployed a 70.5-ft (21.5-m) diameter parachute at an altitude of about 7 miles (11 km) to begin the next phase of deceleration. With the thin Martian atmosphere, the parachute could only slow the vehicle 200 mph (320 km/h). At an altitude of about 6,900 ft (2,100 m) above the surface, the rover separated and fired up the descent stage rockets, slowing to its final descent speed of about 1.7 mph (2.7 km/hr).

The miniature Mars helicopter Ingenuity begins its month-long mission following its successful first flight on the Red Planet.

By Robert W. Moorman

A pril 19, 2021 — a day for the record books: the successful first flight of an aircraft on another planet. Lifting off from the surface of Mars to a modest 10 ft (3 m), NASA’s diminutive Ingenuity helicopter made a humble start that holds huge significance for future flights. “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 NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. “We will take a moment to celebrate our success and then take a cue from Orville andWilbur 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.” The successful first controlled flight of an aircraft on another planet more than justifies the $80M budget for Ingenuity’s portion of the Mars mission. The mission and the first flight have also reawakened the public’s interest in space exploration and the potential role for vertical flight elsewhere in the cosmos.

May / June 2021

The Ingenuity Mars helicopter in flight, as seen from the Perseverance rover, on April 19, 2021. (All images NASA except where noted)

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