NASA’s ingenious helicopter could fly to Mars on Monday

We are almost. ‘S first flight of an ingenious mini helicopter NASA Surely
Tuesday The U.S. space agency announced Saturday
After a delay of more than a week Due to a technical problem. The ingenious flight of the first motorized device to another planet should allow NASA to gather valuable data about the living conditions on Mars.

“NASA expects the first flight of its ingenious helicopter to take place on Monday, April 19th,” the company said. According to NASA, the data will be available “a few hours after the autonomous flight” at 3:30 a.m. (until 7:30 p.m.).

A real challenge

Flight is a real challenge because Mars winds have an equivalent density of only 1% of the Earth’s atmosphere. However, only when the air is pushed can the impulses lift the aircraft. This means that in order to fly intelligently, the earth must rotate its rotor blades much faster than a helicopter.

After the flight, the helicopter will send technical data to the rover about what it has achieved, which will be sent to Earth. In this initial data, a black and white photograph of the ground will be taken directly below it while in the air.

Pictures of the next day

The next day, once its batteries are recharged, the helicopter sends a color photo of the horizon taken by its other camera. But the most spectacular pictures have to come Rover diligence, Placed under surveillance at a distance of several meters, who should film the aircraft.

If successful, the second flight will not take place after four days. Up to five flights are planned in all, increasing difficulty. NASA wants to raise the helicopter to a height of 5 meters, then try to move it sideways.

In 1903, this action would be equivalent to the first flight of a motorized vehicle on Earth by the Wright brothers to Mars. Even a piece of cloth from this plane, which took off a century ago in North Carolina, USA, has been cleverly placed. Whatever happens, after a month or less, the ingenuity test will stop, leaving the rover of perseverance dedicated to its main task: searching for traces of ancient life on Mars.