NASA postpones helicopter flight to Mars

During another test of the rotors of the Mars helicopter “Ingenuity” suddenly had problems. Engineers canceled the project, but there is already a new flight date.

NASA has postponed the first helicopter flight over Mars due to possible technical issues, which are scheduled for Sunday. NASA said on Saturday (local time) that the rotor test of the Mars helicopter “ingenuity” was canceled in advance due to signs of possible complications. Scientists are in the process of evaluating the data, and then the experiment must be repeated. So the scheduled flight could take place quickly next Wednesday.

First, “Ingenuity” must have boarded Sunday for the first controlled helicopter flight in history on an alien planet. The 1.8-kilogram plane took off and landed on Mars in mid-February to take a photo of the Landing Rover “diligence”.

Flight testing is considered very difficult. Mars’ atmosphere is only one percent of Earth’s air density. So the rotors have to turn very fast to run uphill. Significantly lower gravitational pull on Mars will help. A total of five helicopter flights are planned over a period of one month, with the helicopter also moving horizontally over the planet.

Planes like “Ingenuity” could revolutionize space exploration because they could be used to explore larger areas, and because of their surface texture, hard-moving zones of alien celestial bodies.