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Mars Mound From Ingenuity Helicopter’s Viewpoint in three-D: This three-D view of a rock mound known as “Faillefeu” was once made from knowledge gathered through NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter all through its thirteenth flight at Mars on Sept. 4, 2021. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
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Mars Mound From Ingenuity Helicopter’s Viewpoint in three-D: This three-D view of a rock mound known as “Faillefeu” was once made from knowledge gathered through NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter all through its thirteenth flight at Mars on Sept. 4, 2021. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
For the primary time in historical past, two planets had been house to checking out long run plane designs. On this global, a brand new rotor which may be used with next-generation Mars helicopters was once not too long ago examined at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, spinning at near-supersonic speeds (0.95 Mach). In the meantime, the company’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter has accomplished new altitude and airspeed information at the Pink Planet within the title of experimental flight checking out.
“Our next-generation Mars helicopter checking out has actually had the most efficient of each worlds,” mentioned Teddy Tzanetos, Ingenuity’s mission supervisor and supervisor for the Mars Pattern Restoration Helicopters. “Right here on Earth, you will have the entire instrumentation and hands-on immediacy you might want to hope for whilst checking out new plane parts. On Mars, you will have the true off-world stipulations you might want to by no means really re-create right here on Earth.” That features a whisper-thin surroundings and considerably much less gravity than on Earth.
The following-generation carbon fiber rotor blades being examined on Earth are nearly 4 inches (greater than 10 centimeters) longer than Ingenuity’s, with higher power and a special design. NASA thinks those blades may permit larger, extra succesful Mars helicopters. The problem is that because the blade guidelines method supersonic speeds, vibration-causing turbulence can briefly get out of hand.
To discover a area large enough to create a Martian surroundings on Earth, engineers regarded to JPL’s 25-foot large, 85-foot-tall (8-meter-by-26-meter) area simulator—a spot the place Surveyor, Voyager, and Cassini were given their first style of space-like environments. For 3 weeks in September, a crew monitored sensors, meters, and cameras because the blades continued run after run at ever-higher speeds and larger pitch angles.
A twin rotor gadget for the following era of Mars helicopters is examined within the 25-Foot Area Simulator at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory on Sept.15. Longer and more potent than the ones used at the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, the carbon-fiber blades reached near-supersonic speeds all through checking out. Credit score: NASA/JPL-Caltech
“We spun our blades as much as 3,500 rpm, which is 750 revolutions in step with minute quicker than the Ingenuity blades have long gone,” mentioned Tyler Del Sesto, Pattern Restoration Helicopter deputy check conductor at JPL. “Those extra environment friendly blades are actually greater than a hypothetical workout. They’re able to fly.”
At round the similar time, and about 100 million miles (161 million kilometers) away, Ingenuity was once being commanded to check out issues the Mars Helicopter crew by no means imagined they might get to do.
Fourth rock flight checking out
Ingenuity was once firstly slated to fly not more than 5 instances. With its first flight coming into the project logbook greater than two-and-a-half years in the past, the helicopter has exceeded its deliberate 30-day project through 32 instances and has flown 66 instances. Each and every time Ingenuity is going airborne, it covers new flooring, providing a standpoint no earlier planetary project may reach. However in recent years, Workforce Ingenuity has been taking their solar-powered rotorcraft out for a spin like by no means prior to.
“Over the last 9 months, we have now doubled our max airspeed and altitude, greater our price of vertical and horizontal acceleration, or even discovered to land slower,” mentioned Travis Brown, Ingenuity’s leader engineer at JPL. “The envelope enlargement supplies worthwhile knowledge that can be utilized through project designers for long run Mars helicopters.”
This video combines two views of the 59th flight of NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter. Video at the left was once captured through the Mastcam-Z on NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover; the black-and-white video at the proper was once taken through Ingenuity’s downward-pointing Navcam. The flight came about Sept 16. Credit score: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS
Restricted through to be had power and motor-temperature concerns, Ingenuity flights typically closing round two to 3 mins. Even if the helicopter can quilt extra flooring in one flight through flying quicker, flying too rapid can confuse the onboard navigation gadget. The gadget makes use of a digicam that acknowledges rocks and different floor options as they transfer thru its box of view. If the ones options whiz through too rapid, the gadget can lose its means.
So, to succeed in a better most flooring pace, the crew sends instructions for Ingenuity to fly at greater altitudes (directions are despatched to the helicopter prior to every flight), which assists in keeping options in view longer. Flight 61 established a brand new altitude document of 78.7 ft (24 meters) because it looked at Martian wind patterns. With Flight 62, Ingenuity set a pace document of twenty-two.3 mph (10 meters in step with 2d)—and scouted a location for the Perseverance rover’s science crew.
The crew has additionally been experimenting with Ingenuity’s touchdown pace. The helicopter was once designed to touch the skin at a quite brisk 2.2 mph (1 mps) so its onboard sensors may simply ascertain landing and close down the rotors prior to it would leap again into the air.
A helicopter that lands extra slowly may well be designed with lighter touchdown tools. So, on Flights 57, 58, and 59 they gave it a whirl, demonstrating that Ingenuity may land at speeds 25% slower than the ones at which it was once firstly designed to land.
All this Martian Chuck Yeager-ing isn’t over. In December, after photo voltaic conjunction, Ingenuity is predicted to accomplish two high-speed flights, all through which it’s going to execute a distinct set of pitch-and-roll angles designed to measure its efficiency.
“The knowledge shall be extraordinarily helpful in fine-tuning our aero-mechanical fashions of the way rotorcraft behave on Mars,” mentioned Brown. “On Earth, such checking out is typically carried out within the first few flights. However that isn’t the place we are flying. You must be a little bit extra cautious if you end up running that a ways clear of the closest restore store, as a result of you aren’t getting any do-overs.”
