NASA Ingenuity Helicopter paves the way for others to explore Mars | Tech News

NASA Ingenuity Helicopter paves the way for others to explore Mars

The outstanding performance by the NASA Ingenuity has given the confidence to scientists to build more space helicopters that will explore Mars and other areas of the solar system.

By: HT TECH
| Updated on: Dec 16 2022, 12:53 IST
Top NASA tech that solved Mars myths and mysteries like never before
NASA Ingenuity
1/10 Humans have been studying Mars for hundred of years. In 1609, Galileo was the first person to peer through a telescope and get a more intimate image of what many could only have dreamed of. (Pixabay)
NASA Ingenuity
2/10 An up close and personal view of the red planet emerged as time progressed and so did the capabilities of telescopes. In fact, from the late 1800s to the mid 1900s, many astronomers believed that Mars was home to majestic seas and lush areas of vegetation. The Dark markings on Mars surface were once believed to be caused by vegetation growing and dying. (Pixabay)
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3/10 Some even believed that intelligent life existed on Mars just because of what they saw through their simple telescopes. But that is exactly was science is about-you make educated guesses based on what you know, then change your ideas based on what you learn. (NASA)
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4/10 Now, thanks to new sophisticated equipment and robotic visits to Mars, it turns out they were caused by Martian wind. It was not until the 1960s, when NASA's Mariner missions flew by and snapped pictures of Mars that many of the myths about the red planet were dispelled. (NASA)
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5/10 That does not make Mars any less interesting. The possibility that life actually existed once on Mars is still a distinct possibility. Or it may even be existing on Mars today! No, not in the form of little green men, but on a microbial level. (NASA)
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6/10 Now, taking pictures is great and all. But nothing is better than getting to know the real thing. So, to get a better feel of Mars, Scientists and engineers built some nifty technologies, from spacecrafts to reach Mars and rovers (vehicles) to actually trundle and explore the planet. (NASA/JPL)
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7/10 Among the earliest tech deployed for Mars was Phoenix. It was launched on August 4, 2007 and so began its 9-month long, 681 Million km journey to the legendary red planet. Now, landing on a planet is not as easy as simply dropping a spacecraft onto it. There is actually a lot of steps to the process. (NASA)
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8/10 On May 25, 2008, Phoenix entered Mars atmosphere. It used its heat shield to slow down the high speed entry of 5600 meters per second or around 12500 miles per hour. It released a supersonic PARACHUTE, then detached from its parachute and used its rocket engines to land safely on the planet's surface. Phoenix' landing spot was further north and closer to the ice covered poles than any spacecraft has ever been before. (NASA)
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9/10 Phoenix had two primary goals: One was to study the history of water in the Martian arctic and the other was to search for evidence of a habitual zone and assess the biological potential of the ice soil boundary. And to do that the spacecraft was packed full of gizmos and gadgets to perform all sets of experiments and tests. One of these gizmos was a robotic arm with a shovel attached. It was used to dig up samples of the martian soil for experiments! (NASA)
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10/10 Another top tech on the Mars surface was the Surface Stereo Imager, which is really just a fancy name for the camera. Three surface stereo imagers were Phoenix' eye. Engineers built the device with two optical lenses that would allow for a three dimensional view, just like our eyes. And the SSI sent back some amazing images of the martian landscape. (Source: NASA/Justin Tully) (NASA)
NASA Ingenuity
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The success of the NASA Ingenuity Helicopter gives scientists hopes to better explore Mars with more space helicopters. (AP)

The NASA Perseverance Rover has been leading a path-breaking exploration of the surface of Mars. However, the Mars rover also has a partner in crime that has been flying around mapping the vast area of the red planet. It is called the Ingenuity helicopter and it has been making waves in the astronomy community for its efficiency and performance. Even NASA scientists have said that the space helicopter has surpassed their expectations by a significant margin. While it was an experiment to begin with, the successful run of course by NASA Ingenuity can now lead to a fleet of similar space aircrafts that can explore not only Mars but other planets and celestial bodies in the solar system.

As per a report by Space.com, Havard Grip, the chief pilot for the Ingenuity helicopter said in a press conference, “It did such a good job in fact that even though we originally were meant to fly only up to five times on Mars, we got a new mission”. He also announced that Ingenuity will now help the Mars rover by scouting the path ahead of it and scoping the landscape.

NASA Ingenuity can lead to a fleet of space helicopters

NASA scientists have reasons to be impressed with Ingenuity. Its initial demonstration lasted only 39 seconds but since then it has taken 36 flights across the Martian skies. During this time, it has scouted the area for Perseverance, taken detailed images of an outcrop on the planet and helped in creating a 3D model of the area to help scientists study the geography better.

But this performance has created another headache for the scientists. At the time of launch, the helicopter was only scheduled for five flights. But instead of adding just 5 logbook pages because it would look silly, the scientists added 36 different pages to it. But it appears even that is not enough as it completed its 36th flight two days ago and now the space helicopter has run out of pages.

This has given the scientists the confidence to undertake more missions which would be exclusively conducted by these space helicopters. And while these will be used to further explore the topography of Mars, it would not be limited to it. NASA is planning a Dragonfly mission to Saturn's moon Titan where space helicopters will be exploring the new world. The mission is tentatively scheduled for 2027.

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First Published Date: 16 Dec, 12:48 IST
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