NASA’s Ingenuity drone, which along with its companion surface rover Perseverance arrived on Mars in February 2021, recently made its 25th flight, breaking the record for the distance covered in a single nonstop flight between all of them. those that he has carried out, and also the speed record. The robotic helicopter is the first self-propelled aircraft to fly outside of Earth.
In the record-breaking flight, the drone covered a distance of 704 meters at a speed of 5.5 meters per second.
The drone began that flight ascending, like any helicopter. After reaching an altitude of 10 meters, the flying robot headed southwest, accelerating to its maximum speed in less than three seconds. The Ingenuity flew first over undulating terrain made up of sand and then over several rocky areas. Eventually, it landed on relatively flat, “normal” terrain, which provided a good landing spot for the drone.
Ingenuity flights are autonomous. The “pilots” at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) plan them and send the relevant orders to the robotic Perseverance rover, which in turn transmits them to the drone. It takes off at the right time, and during flight, onboard sensors (the navigation camera, an inertial measurement unit, and a laser rangefinder) provide real-time data to Ingenuity’s main flight computer and navigation processor. , which guide the drone in its flight. This allows the Ingenuity to react to features in the landscape on its own while attempting to carry out commands.
Artist’s impression of the Ingenuity flying on Mars. (Illustration: NASA)
Mission control personnel recently lost communication with Ingenuity after it entered a very low activity state due to a temporary power shortage. Now that the drone is getting adequate power from its solar panel to seamlessly recharge its six lithium-ion batteries, it has returned to its normal level of activity and is back in contact with mission control. (Font: NCYT de Amazings)