The “Ingenuity” miniature helicopter of the US Space Agency (NASA) succeeded in carrying out a second sortie in the atmosphere of Mars, according to the agency, which involved a greater risk than the historic one that took place on Monday, and as a result, it became the first motor vehicle to fly over another planet.
And “NASA” said in a statement that this sortie lasted 51.9 seconds, while the one against the two lasted only 39.1 seconds. The second flight also witnessed a group of “several new challenges” that distinguished it from the first, most notably its flight at a higher maximum altitude, staying longer in the air, and carrying out lateral movements.
Read also .. «Ingenuity» successfully flies over Mars
The “Ingenuity” took off at 05.33 (09.33 GMT) and rose to a height of five meters after it had been in the previous sortie and stopped at a level of three meters. The helicopter carried out a sideways movement for the first time, achieving two of NASA’s ambitions.
“It sounds simple, but there are a lot of unknowns about how to fly a helicopter on Mars. That is why we are here to find answers to these questions,” said Havard Gharib, one of the “Ingenuity” pilots from a distance. As for the chief engineer of the project, Bob Ballaram, he noted that the data received indicated that this second flight “was up to expectations.”
“We have two flights over Mars, which means that there is a lot to learn this month through helicopters,” he added. The helicopter project leader, Mimi Aung, said that more sorties were planned, but indicated that the “life span” of the helicopter “is determined by the way it lands” each time.
Whatever happens, the “Ingenuity” experiment will stop after a month or less, to allow the “Perseverance” rover to devote itself to its main mission of searching for ancient traces of life on Mars.
.
#surprise #Ingenuity #Mars
source https://pledgetimes.com/a-new-surprise-for-ingenuity-from-mars/
Disqus comments