FLIGHT ON MARS
Nasa’s ‘Wright brothers moment’ as its space helicopter takes off on a 39-second mission
THERE have been many extraordinary feats in aviation since the Wright brothers made the first flight more than 117 years ago.
This unassuming craft on the surface of Mars may not look as impressive as the jets and rockets that have come before it – but yesterday it opened a thrilling new chapter in the history of flying.
Nasa’s Ingenuity space helicopter performed the first flight on another planet, paving the way for even deeper exploration of new worlds.
At 8.34am the drone-like craft lifted off, climbed ten feet, hovered and gently landed in a mission lasting 39 seconds.
Engineers at the space agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California erupted into cheers on learning of the mission’s success at 11.46am UK-time, after the data had been beamed millions of miles
‘An amazing feat on another world’
from the Red Planet. Their project had arrived in the Jezero Crater aboard the Perseverance Rover on February 18, with the aim of solving the problem of how to perform a take-off in the ultra-thin Martian atmosphere.
The scientists spent six years designing a craft that was light – the fuselage is the size of a tissue box – and 4ft-long rotor blades that spin about six times faster than normal helicopters.
On paper it looked like Ingenuity would be able to generate enough lift – and their calculations were spot on.
A black-and-white picture showing the helicopter’s shadow on the Martian surface was returned by one of its on-board cameras, and Perseverance filmed the flight.
MiMi Aung, project manager for Ingenuity, said: ‘We’ve been talking for so long about our “Wright Brothers moment” on Mars, and here it is.’
Nasa scientist Thomas Zurbuchen added: ‘Now, 117 years after the Wright brothers succeeded in making the first flight on our planet, Nasa’s Ingenuity helicopter has succeeded in performing this amazing feat on another world. While these two iconic moments in aviation history may be separated by time and 173million miles of space, they now will forever be linked.’
A small swatch of fabric from one wing of the Wright brothers’ aircraft Flyer 1 is housed beneath one of the solar panels that fuel Ingenuity’s batteries.
The pair made the first powered, controlled flight in North Carolina on December 17 1903, staying airborne for 12 seconds and covering 120 feet.
Craft like Ingenuity could eventually be used to investigate inaccessible corners of Mars or to transport samples and instruments to base.
Ingenuity will be tested over 30 Martian days, called sols, which are about 40 minutes longer than our days on Earth.
Its next flight, possibly this week, could see the helicopter fly horizontally for a few feet, rise as high as 15 feet and clock up 90 seconds of flight time.
The helicopter could carry out up to five increasingly ambitious missions, covering distances of up to 2,000 feet.
Because of the delay in signals reaching Mars, flights are pre-programmed rather than controlled live with a joystick.