NASA Successfully Flies Small Helicopter on Mars
American space research agency NASA said it has successfully been able to fly a small drone from the surface of Mars for the first time.
The drone, called Ingenuity, flies in the Mars sky in less than a minute, BBC reports.
But NASA says it is delighted with the success of flying a mechanical and controlled vehicle for the first time in the sky of another planet. NASA says the success paved the way for more adventurous aircraft to fly in the days ahead.
The crew was seen bursting with cheers as the image of the drone took off and reached NASA’s control room. The helicopter weighing just 1.8 kg flew from the surface of Mars and landed successfully after 40 seconds.
Scientists say they now want to fly the Ingenuity drone higher and further after examining its technology limitations.
NASA’s Perseverance Rover carried the drone to Mars. In February, the perseverance landed on the surface of Mars.
It is expected that such drones will make it much easier to monitor the topography and environment of Mars or any other planet.
Two brothers, Wilbur and Orville Wright, made history in 1903 by flying the first power-powered aircraft in the earth’s skies. So, Mimi Aung, manager of the Ingenuity project at a NASA laboratory in California described it as such a historic moment.
When the image of the Ingenuity drone flying into the Martian sky in NASA’s control room arrived, Mimi Aung could be heard saying: “That’s real truth!”
He happily tore up the paper he had written about the speech he would give if the drone failed to fly.
The picture shows the drone, weighing just 1.8 kg above Mars’ land, about 3 meters above, the drone’s fans rotating, the drone moving from side to side, and about 40 seconds later the drone successfully landed on Mars.
It is not easy for an air vehicle to fly in the sky from the soil of Mars. The atmosphere of Mars is very thin. The planet’s atmosphere has a density of only 1% of the density of earth’s atmosphere. As a result, it is very difficult for such a drone to fly.
Mars rover “Perseverance” Drives on the Red Planet for First Time
Mars’ gravitational force helps a bit, but it takes a lot of effort to lift such drones or helicopters from the ground into the atmosphere of Mars.
NASA has announced that the site on Mars where the Perseverance spacecraft landed the Ingenuity drone will now be named the landing of the Right brothers.
Scientists say they will try to fly four more flights in the coming days after the first flight is successful. The small helicopter will be flown a little longer on each flight.
NASA scientists say they can now fly drones to collect important data from the surface of Mars, cavities and cavity walls.
This success opened the way for them to have great potential to know Mars.
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