TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Once again, NASA’s helicopter drone on Mars, Ingenuity, managed to take off. In its fourth test flight on Friday, April 30, 2021, Ingenuity is streaking farther and faster than the previous three tests.
The aim of the Ingenuity mission at Mars actually fulfilled the first three test flight, namely the first demonstration flight by a helicopter on a planet other than Earth. The ability to fly a helicopter drone is believed to have a major impact on future Mars exploration missions that become independent of land rovers.
On Friday’s flight, the 1.8-kilogram helicopter drone flew for nearly two minutes, covered a distance of 266 meters and reached a speed of up to 13 kilometers per hour. The distance was twice as far and the speed was almost twice as high as the previous flight.
In fact, there will only be four test flights before Ingenuity in the fifth test will be pushed to its fullest until it is knocked down. The test series had also been plotted before Perseverance began its exploration of its main mission: tracking life on Mars and collecting rock samples to bring back to Earth.
However, NASA announced on Friday that it would maintain Ingenuity throughout the Perseverance mission. Ingenuity will accompany from the air and record pictures which hopefully can help Perseverance follow routes in the surrounding area that is scientifically interesting and potential.
“Now we have the opportunity to demonstrate the benefits of both robotic and manned missions in a future where ground rover missions are conducted with a nearby partner who can provide a different perspective – from the air,” said MiMi Aung of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, USA. , which is the location for the Perseverance mission control.
“We will take this opportunity and run with him — and fly with him,” MiMi Aung said pointing at Ingenuity.
Shadow of NASA Ingenuity’s Mars helicopter that made its first flight on the planet Mars on April 19, 2021. NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/Handout via REUTERS
Due to the extension of the mission’s time, Ingenuity’s fifth test flight will not return to the point where the helicopter had taken off in the previous four tests. However, the helicopter will fly in one direction and land on a new spot that has been previously determined.
From that location, Ingenuity will still fly one or two more times within 30 Mars days. For the record, one Martian day is equivalent to one Earth day, only about 40 minutes longer.
“If the Ingenuity helicopter hardware turns out to be still in good condition, the mission could be extended again,” said the statement NASA.
NEWSCIENTIST
Also read:
Third Test, Ingenuity Helicopters on Mars Successfully Fly Farther and Faster
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