NASA helicopter made 50 flights to Mars, 10 times more than planned

helicopter ingenuity Marsfrom NASAcompleted last Thursday, the 13th, his 50th flight in Mars, a milestone for the first aircraft in another world, after all, its original mission was to take off no more than five times. Not only that, he once again broke his height record, 18 meters, proving that he can continue as an important part of the exploration of the red planet.

For the space agency, the achievements of the ship are already part of humanity’s greatest moments and are comparable to the testing of the first aircraft. The presence of “eyes” in the sky of our solar system neighbor is a great advance in space exploration and allows astronomers to collect data that earlier earth probes could not or took longer. And there is no information that Ingenuity will cease operations anytime soon.

Initially, the helicopter, launched in 2020 and landing in 2021, was designed as a technology demonstration that would allow a maximum of five flights. The idea was to test and prove that it was possible to fly over Mars with a device controlled from Earth. However, this exceeded expectations, and this “thankful surprise” also helped NASA in another operation, the rover operation. perseverance.

The ground vehicle, like the spacecraft, is engaged in reconnaissance and collecting samples for the mission. Mars Sample come backmade in collaboration with Agency European Space (ESA), dedicated to collecting the physical elements of the planet, such as rocks and dust, and returning them for full analysis. Inventiveness is able to notice possible obstacles for the probe in advance, optimizing its trajectory.

The more progress, the more research technologies

With each flight, the engineers responsible for the helicopter collect data that can be used in various ideas, such as the production of reconnaissance “scouts” or new flying equipment, including helicopters V Recovery V Samplesproposed by Mars Sample Return. If success continues, NASA will pave the way for the introduction of similar technologies to explore even more distant places and, perhaps someday, deep space objects.

Source: NASA.

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