The Ingenuity helicopter captured the first color image 5.2 meters above the surface of Mars during the plane’s second flight, executed this Thursday (22). Helicopter NASA A third flight is scheduled for this Sunday (25).
The aircraft flew autonomously for 52 seconds during its second flight and flew 4.9 meters through the atmosphere of Mars. After hovering, the helicopter tilted at an angle of 5 degrees and later went up to 2.1 meters.
Ingenuity waved again to make three laps. This allowed the helicopter’s color camera to capture images from different angles. During the first flight, on 19 April, the aircraft captured only black and white photographs.
The color image was shared by NASA on Friday and is the first taken by aerial vehicle on Martian soil. On both sides of the image, landing points can be seen on two of the helicopter’s four legs.
The shadow of the helicopter on the surface of Mars can be seen below the image.
The chopper’s perspective view shows that the persistence was taken by Rover when he initially deposited the helicopter in the middle of his airfield, now known as Wright Brothers Field.
There is also a glimpse of the Martian horizon in the upper right and left corners of the photo.
The helicopter crew believes the image helps to demonstrate the unique aerial reconnaissance capabilities of Ingenuity and other rotary-wing aircraft that could be modeled on it in the future.
Sunday flight
The helicopter’s third flight is scheduled for Sunday. Data and images will be transmitted to the control room at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California at 11:16 am (GMT).
During previous flights, Ingenuity was moving at a speed of about half a meter per second. Now, the helicopter will increase that speed to 2 meters per second.
The aircraft will fly 50 meters north before returning to the landing site.
The mission team plans a total flight time of 80 seconds, the longest ever and a total distance of about 100 meters.
“While this number may not seem very high, consider that when we do a flight test here on Earth in a vacuum chamber, we never move more than two pencil lengths later,” said the Ingenuet Mars helicopter. The main pilot is written by Håvard Grip. Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
“Although 4 meters of lateral movement on the second flight (2 meters forward and 2 meters back) was excellent, providing plenty of great data, it was still only 4 meters. Like, the third flight is a big step, one of which I will begin to experience freedom in the sky. “
The helicopter still has one more week to fly two more flights before the 31-day mission ends.
“We are conducting our flight tests in an atmosphere of more than 290 million kilometers from Earth, but we approach the Wright Brothers in their approach to experimental flight,” Gripp wrote. “Our plan from the very first day was to plan crazy, fly, analyze data (like crazy) and then plan even more daring tests on the next flight.”
(Translated text, Click here And read the original in English).
