🚁🪐 NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helikopta Stay Makin’ 50 Flights On Top Da Red Planet 🌋
Da kine history-making helikopta recently stay fly ova some plenny hazardous terrain dat neva encounta befo’ on da Red Planet. NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helikopta wen’ make da 50th flight on Mars. Da first aircraft on top one oddah world wen’ reach da half-century mark on April 13, travel ova 1,057.09 feet (322.2 meters) in 145.7 seconds. Da helikopta wen’ set one new altitude record of 59 feet (18 meters) befo’ land close to da half-mile-wide (800-meter-wide) “Belva Crater.” 🌌🌠
Wit’ Flight 50 stay down in da mission logbook, da helikopta team get plan fo’ do one oddah repositioning flight befo’ check out da “Fall River Pass” area of Jezero Crater. 🚀🏜️
💨 Jus’ like da Wright braddahs wen’ keep on wit’ dea experiments long aftah dat big day at Kitty Hawk in 1903, da Ingenuity team stay keep on wit’ dea flights an’ learn from da first aircraft on top one oddah world. Da planetary kine science division director at NASA Headquarters stay real stoked. 🛩️🎉
Ingenuity wen’ land on da Red Planet in February 2021, stay attached to da belly of NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover, an’ goin’ mark da two-year anniversary of its first flight, which wen’ happen on April 19, 2021. Da helikopta wen’ get design as one technology demonstration, no mo’ den five flights fo’ prove dat we can fly wit’ powah an’ control on top oddah planet. But Ingenuity wen’ go mo’ bettah den expectations an’ switch to one operations demonstration. 🚁👏
🌠 E’ry time Ingenuity go up in da air, stay cover new ground an’ give one view dat no oddah planetary mission wen’ get befo’. Pictures from da helikopta show how aircraft could be good scouts fo’ future planetary expeditions, an’ even help out da Perseverance team. 🛰️📸
By testing da helikopta’s limits, engineers stay get flight data dat goin’ help oddah engineers work on designs fo’ possible future Mars helikoptas. Dat includes da peeps designing da Mars Sample Return campaign’s proposed Sample Recovery Helikoptas. 🚀🔧
🌋 Mo’ Risky Terrain 🪨
Since leave da mo’ flat kine area of Jezero Crater’s floor on Jan. 19, Ingenuity wen’ fly 11 times, set new speed an’ altitude records of 14.5 mph (6.5 meters per second) an’ 59 feet (18 meters) along da way. 🚁💨
Da deep chill of winter an’ regional dust events (dat can block da Sun’s rays from reach da helikopta’s solar panel) wen’ pau, but Ingenuity still stay brown out at night. As one result, da Helikopta Base Station on da rover gotta look fo’ da rotorcraft’s signal each morning at da time Ingenuity stay suppose’ to wake up. An’ wen da helikopta do fly, now gotta navigate rugged an’ mo ‘less charted terrain, land in spots dat stay surrounded by hazards. 🚁🌄
“We not in Martian Kansas anymore,” said Josh Anderson, Ingenuity operations lead at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “We stay fly ova da dried-up kine remnant of one ancient river, choke wit’ sand dunes, boulders, an’ rocks, an’ surrounded by hills dat could grind us up. An’ even doh we wen’ upgrade da navigation software onboard fo’ help find safe airfields, e’ry flight still stay one white-knuckler.” 🌊🪨
🚁 Frequent Flya’ 🛫
On top of mo’ challenging terrain, Ingenuity goin’ fly mo’ often in da coming days ’cause da helikopta need fo’ stay within electronic earshot of da rover. Wit’ its AutoNav capability, Perseverance can go hundreds of meters each day. 📡🔊
“Ingenuity rely on Perseverance fo’ act as one communications relay between it an’ mission controllers hea at JPL,” said Anderson. “If da rover go too far ahead or disappear behind one hill, we could lose communications. Da rover team get one job fo’ do an’ one schedule fo’ keep. So, stay real important dat Ingenuity keep up an’ stay in da lead wheneva’ can.” 📶🔜
Perseverance wen’ pau exploring “Foel Drygarn,” one scientific target dat might get hydrated silica (which stay real interesting fo’ astrobiology). Now, it stay head to “Mount Julian,” which goin’ give one panoramic view into da nearby Belva Crater. 🌋🔭
🏆 Feats of Ingenuity 🥇
Ingenuity, built wit’ choke off-the-shelf components, like smartphone processors an’ cameras, stay now 23 Earth months an’ 45 flights beyond its expected lifetime. Da rotorcraft wen’ fly ova 89 minutes an’ mo’ den 7.1 miles (11.6 kilometers). 📱📷
“Wen we first wen’ fly, we t’ought we would be super lucky fo’ squeeze out five flights,” said Teddy Tzanetos, Ingenuity team lead at JPL. “We wen’ go way mo’ den we t’ought fo’ cumulative flight time since our technology demonstration wrap up by 1,250% an’ expected distance flown by 2,214%.” 🚁💥
But, going mo’ bettah den expectations get one cost too. Wit’ some helikopta parts showing signs of wear an’ da terrain getting mo’ challenging, da Ingenuity team know dat e’ry great mission gotta come to one end eventually. “We wen’ come so far, an’ we like go fartha’,” said Tzanetos. “But we know since da start our time at Mars stay limited, an’ e’ry operational day stay one blessing. Whedda Ingenuity’s mission end tomorrow, next week, or months from now, nobody can predict right now. But wat I can predict is dat wen it does, we goin’ get one heck of one party.” 🎊🚀
NOW IN ENGLISH
🚁🪐 NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Achieves 50 Flights Over the Red Planet 🌋
The history-making helicopter recently flew over some extremely hazardous terrain that it had never encountered before on the Red Planet. NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter completed its 50th flight on Mars. The first aircraft on another world reached the half-century mark on April 13, traveling over 1,057.09 feet (322.2 meters) in 145.7 seconds. The helicopter set a new altitude record of 59 feet (18 meters) before landing near the half-mile-wide (800-meter-wide) “Belva Crater.” 🌌🌠
With Flight 50 recorded in the mission logbook, the helicopter team has plans for another repositioning flight before exploring the “Fall River Pass” area of Jezero Crater. 🚀🏜️
💨 Just like the Wright brothers continued with their experiments long after that big day at Kitty Hawk in 1903, the Ingenuity team continues with their flights and learns from the first aircraft on another world. The planetary science division director at NASA Headquarters is very excited. 🛩️🎉
Ingenuity landed on the Red Planet in February 2021, attached to the belly of NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover, and will mark the two-year anniversary of its first flight, which happened on April 19, 2021. The helicopter was designed as a technology demonstration, no more than five flights to prove that we can fly with power and control on another planet. But Ingenuity exceeded expectations and transitioned to an operations demonstration. 🚁👏
🌠 Every time Ingenuity takes to the air, it covers new ground and provides a view that no other planetary mission has had before. Pictures from the helicopter show how aircraft could be useful scouts for future planetary expeditions, and even assist the Perseverance team. 🛰️📸
By testing the helicopter’s limits, engineers are collecting flight data that will help other engineers work on designs for possible future Mars helicopters. That includes those designing the Mars Sample Return campaign’s proposed Sample Recovery Helicopter. 🚀🔧
🌋 More Risky Terrain 🪨
Since leaving the relatively flat area of Jezero Crater’s floor on Jan. 19, Ingenuity has flown 11 times, setting new speed and altitude records of 14.5 mph (6.5 meters per second) and 59 feet (18 meters) along the way. 🚁💨
The deep chill of winter and regional dust events (that can block the Sun’s rays from reaching the helicopter’s solar panel) have passed, but Ingenuity still faces power challenges at night. As a result, the Helicopter Base Station on the rover must search for the rotorcraft’s signal each morning at the time Ingenuity is supposed to wake up. And when the helicopter does fly, it now must navigate rugged and more or less charted terrain, landing in spots surrounded by hazards. 🚁🌄
“We’re not in Martian Kansas anymore,” said Josh Anderson, Ingenuity operations lead at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “We’re flying over the dried-up remnants of an ancient river, choked with sand dunes, boulders, and rocks, and surrounded by hills that could grind us up. And even though we’ve upgraded the navigation software onboard to help find safe airfields, every flight is still a white-knuckler.” 🌊🪨
🚁 Frequent Flyer 🛫
On top of more challenging terrain, Ingenuity will fly more often in the coming days because the helicopter needs to stay within electronic range of the rover. With its AutoNav capability, Perseverance can cover hundreds of meters each day. 📡🔊
“Ingenuity relies on Perseverance to act as a communications relay between it and mission controllers here at JPL,” said Anderson. “If the rover goes too far ahead or disappears behind a hill, we could lose communications. The rover team has a job to do and a schedule to keep. So, it’s really important that Ingenuity keeps up and stays in the lead whenever possible.” 📶🔜
Perseverance finished exploring “Foel Drygarn,” a scientific target that might contain hydrated silica (which is very interesting for astrobiology). Now, it’s heading to “Mount Julian,” which will provide a panoramic view into the nearby Belva Crater. 🌋🔭
🏆 Feats of Ingenuity 🥇
Ingenuity, built with many off-the-shelf components like smartphone processors and cameras, is now 23 Earth months and 45 flights beyond its expected lifetime. The rotorcraft has flown over 89 minutes and more than 7.1 miles (11.6 kilometers). 📱📷
“When we first flew, we thought we would be incredibly lucky to squeeze out five flights,” said Teddy Tzanetos, Ingenuity team lead at JPL. “We’ve exceeded our cumulative flight time since our technology demonstration wrapped up by 1,250% and expected distance flown by 2,214%.” 🚁💥
But, going beyond expectations comes at a cost too. With some helicopter parts showing signs of wear and the terrain getting more challenging, the Ingenuity team knows that every great mission must come to an end eventually. “We’ve come so far, and we’d like to go further,” said Tzanetos. “But we know since the start our time on Mars is limited, and every operational day is a blessing. Whether Ingenuity’s mission ends tomorrow, next week, or months from now, nobody can predict right now. But what I can predict is that when it does, we’re going to have one heck of a party.” 🎊🚀
