Visit the ingenious drone ready for the first flight of another planet

It is a box weighing less than two kilograms, mounted on four metal legs and equipped with blades more than a meter wide, which can return very quickly and much faster than Earth to compensate for the deficiency of Mars’ atmosphere. The ingenuity (nicknamed “Ginny”) that climbed under the wheels of the Perseverance rover that landed on Mars on February 18 was dropped in the open on Mars last week.

After recharging its batteries thanks to its solar panels, it must first achieve a historic achievement: take, climb vertically to a height of three meters, stand still for a few ten seconds and rest safely, on another planet that is what is primarily in motor-fitted crafts. NASA explains on Twitter that the departure, scheduled for Sunday, April 11, will not finally be attempted before Wednesday, April 14.

News: Not a target for our ingenuity before Wednesday, April 14th # Mars HelicopterTry on a controlled plane, running first on another planet. details: https://t.co/LaoY7zyijY pic.twitter.com/TIwlZ3foD1

– NASA (AS NASA) April 10, 2021

This theft is not obvious. “It is completely automatic“, Explains Philip Tronio, a scientific mediator at the Citte de Elspace in Toulouse, which is a perfect replica of the machine.”Since the distance between Earth and Mars is more than ten light minutes, it takes at least ten minutes to travel and return.“.

“It is impossible to fly by sight and know what happens when it happens. You have to plan everything in advance, do everything blindly, and then get information about what’s happening.”

Philip Trono, Scientific Arbitrator at the Citte de Elspace in Toulouse

to franceinfo

In this particular case, it takes approx. “Three days to recover all data including pictures and flight data.“Philip Trono says NASA will meet on Monday for a live broadcast of NASA teams analyzing the first data.

If this plane goes right, there could be five more places to walk, longer and longer. To ensure the success of these missions and to attract the good blessings of Mars, Ginny’s designers wrapped a small piece of cloth around the wings of the Wright brothers’ plane, the first motor vehicle to fly a successful flight to Earth in 1903.