Ingenuity, Scouting Mars by Helicopter

SpaceNut · 2020-08-18 18:21:36

Ingenuity Mars Helicopter recharges its batteries in flight

NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter received a checkout and recharge of its power system on Friday, Aug. 7, one week into its near seven-month journey to Mars with the Perseverance rover. This marks the first time the helicopter has been powered up and its batteries have been charged in the space environment.
During the eight-hour operation, the performance of the rotorcraft's six lithium-ion batteries was analyzed as the team brought their charge level up to 35%. The project has determined a low charge state is optimal for battery health during the cruise to Mars. The 4-pound (2-kilogram) helicopter - a combination of specially designed components and off-the-shelf parts - is currently stowed on Perseverance's belly and receives its charge from the rover's power supply.
The small craft will have a 30-Martian-day (31-Earth-day) experimental flight-test window.

Means that the solar levels drop to a low which it can not continue full flights.

https://mars.nasa.gov/technology/helicopter/

SpaceNut · 2021-02-19 20:11:15

Well the next act to come will be Linux has made it to Mars BB1dPYzx.img?h=514&w=799&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingenuity … elicopter)

SpaceNut · 2021-02-20 18:34:28

Ingenuity mini-chopper sends positive status report from Mars

It will likely be at 30 to 60 days before any attempt is made to deploy Ingenuity on the Martian surface and attempt flight. 'There are two big-ticket items we are looking for in the data: the state of charge of Ingenuity's batteries as well as confirmation the base station is operating as designed, commanding heaters to turn off and on to keep the helicopter's electronics within an expected range,'
Following the initial status update on Saturday, the next step for Ingenuity will be to receive a full battery top-up from Ingenuity's radioisotope thermoelectric power generator.
An initial one-hour power-up will boost the rotor craft's batteries to about 30 percent of their total capacity. A few days after that, they'll be charged again to reach 35 percent, with future charging sessions planned weekly while the helicopter is attached to the rover.
Like much of the chopper, Ingenuity's six lithium-ion batteries are off-the-shelf. While the craft is attached to the rover, it can be charged by Perseverance's power core, but once it deploys Ingenuity will be solely dependent on solar panels to recharge.
Once deployed, Ingenuity will have to prove that it can survive the harsh Martian night, when temperatures dip as low as minus 130 degrees Fahrenheit.

BB1dRvsJ.img?h=416&w=799&m=6&q=60&u=t&o=f&l=f

BB1dRFoC.img?h=426&w=799&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f

The $2.2.billion rover touched down on the Martian surface Thursday following a 239 million mile journey and scientists say it is 'doing great and is healthy on the surface, and continues to be highly functional.'

SpaceNut · 2021-03-31 19:52:01

Videos of the helicopter getting unfolded.

https://youtu.be/JdzS1XKTLyM

https://youtu.be/EQwuF2mYMq0

https://youtu.be/_fDTe2G-uWo

SpaceNut · 2021-04-09 18:37:53

It has been a while but scientist are waiting for its craft for its first flight and the propellers are moving while they wait...

The Ingenuity Mars helicopter's blades are spinning ahead of its first flight - making the NASA team 'nervous and excited' BB1fud4X.img?h=600&w=799&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f

SpaceNut · 2021-04-10 08:40:54

Tmcom wrote:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OG-7J0LC8i4
It will fly, but don't get your hopes up for any breakthroughs.
Apart from the worlds most expensive selfie.

Not really a drone but yes its about to make history...

NASA's Ingenuity to attempt its first flight at 12:30pm Mars time

BB1fuiTZ.img?h=768&w=1366&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f

Ingenuity is expected to soar Sunday, April 11 from a 33-by-33-foot piece of Martian real estate that is the first airfield on a another planet

BB1fuadh.img?h=768&w=1366&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f

SpaceNut · 2021-04-11 10:46:39

Tmcom wrote:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OG-7J0LC8i4
It will fly, but don't get your hopes up for any breakthroughs.
Apart from the worlds most expensive selfie.

SpaceNut · 2021-04-11 10:46:56

tahanson43206 wrote:

A relative sent this link: https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/10/world/ma … index.html
It reports on the automatic shutdown of the pre-flight testing.
SearchTerm:Ingenuity helicopter on Mars
(th)

SpaceNut · 2021-04-11 10:49:25

I did see that the motor spun but controls shut it off.
No details as to cause have been forth coming as to what happened.

Motor current could have been detected as not in range due to the mars cold, the rpm for amount of torque could have been low indicating mars air density was higher than expected....

SpaceNut · 2021-04-11 19:27:30

Must not have been anything...
Watch NASA Mission Control as They Attempt First Helicopter Flight on Mars early Monday morning

You can watch the live stream below starting at around 3:30 a.m. EDT (12:30 a.m. PDT) on Monday April 12. NASA hasn’t said yet when images or even video of the flight attempt will be available, but we’re hoping for later on Monday.
NASA will be holding a news briefing to discuss the preliminary flight results at 11:00 a.m. EDT (8:00 a.m. PDT) on the same day.

https://youtu.be/21X5lGlDOfg

Sure looks tiny
BB1fx8UU.img?h=596&w=799&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f

helicopters four rotor blades were unfurled and tested at speeds of 50 rpm and 2,400 rpm.
During the inaugural flight, Ingenuity’s rotors will whirl at the furious rate of 2,537 rpm. The high rotation rate has to do with the Martian atmosphere, which is a mere 1% of Earth’s.

louis · 2021-04-12 14:09:56

Impressive! Amazing success for NASA...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93z3zNAx-BU

Tmcom · 2021-04-13 04:24:54

SpaceNut wrote:

Tmcom wrote:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OG-7J0LC8i4
It will fly, but don't get your hopes up for any breakthroughs.
Apart from the worlds most expensive selfie.
Not really a drone but yes its about to make history...

NASA's Ingenuity to attempt its first flight at 12:30pm Mars time
https://img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/ten … 60&o=f&l=f

Ingenuity is expected to soar Sunday, April 11 from a 33-by-33-foot piece of Martian real estate that is the first airfield on a another planet
https://img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/ten … 60&o=f&l=f

True there is that, and all they can do is preset a course, (can't fly some thing that will crash in a short while with a 20 minute delay).

tahanson43206 · 2021-04-13 06:10:17

For Louis re #86

Video unavailable
This video has been removed by the uploader

Was that a fake?

(th)

SpaceNut · 2021-04-13 19:43:27

Ya it got delayed nasa-now-knows-what-went-wrong-with-its-mars-helicopter

The first flight of NASA's Ingenuity helicopter on Mars is delayed at least a week because its software needs a tweak

Software fix planned for Mars helicopter

tahanson43206 · 2021-04-18 19:17:32

Here's an update sent by a relative:

https://www.engadget.com/nasa-ingenuity … 56782.html

This engadget article prompted some comments, and I decided to post a couple of them and make an observation ...

Begin Quotation:

LonnieMcclure
12 hours ago
That is one dusty solar panel.
Reply
1
anonimouse9
LonnieMcclure
9 hours ago
Not that I'm doubting nasa engineers... there must be a reason they don't have some sort of blower or wiper to clear off dusty panels on mars.
Reply

End Quotation.

An idea came to me that the helicopter flight should clean the solar panels, although the panels are ** above ** the blades, so the cleaning will only occur if the vehicle moves fast enough, which it seems unlikely to do.

In fact (thinking ahead) if the method works, then the helicopter could be used to clean solar panels on other machines.

Those fast moving blades should definitely move gas vigorously underneath them.

(th)

Oldfart1939 · 2021-04-19 09:46:01

The helicopter flew today!

https://spacenews.com/ingenuity-perform … t-on-mars/

louis · 2021-04-19 13:45:43

An impressive achievement!

Oldfart1939 wrote:

The helicopter flew today!
https://spacenews.com/ingenuity-perform … t-on-mars/

SpaceNut · 2021-04-19 18:04:57

Ingenuity taking off, flying to an altitude of about three meters and hovering before landing 39.1 seconds later.
Perseverance, monitoring the flight from about 65 meters away, also returned a set of images showing the helicopter in flight.

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SpaceNut · 2021-04-22 18:27:30

A second flight has happened and it flew sideways over the Martian surface in its second aerial adventure

Ingenuity tilted itself just 5 degrees, enough for the rotors' thrust to push it sideways for about 7 feet before stopping to hover after climbing to 16 feet in the thin mars air.

something like this
BB1eTexL.img?h=600&w=799&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f

SpaceNut · 2021-04-25 12:17:23

NASA's Ingenuity helicopter just achieved 'freedom in the sky' in its third aerial adventure over Mars

Ingenuity should have reached the same altitude as last time, but increased its maximum airspeed from 0.5 meters per second to 2 meters per second (about 4.5 miles per hour). It likely traveled 50 meters (164 feet) north, then flew back the way it came and landed gently in the copper-colored Martian dust.
The entire flight should have lasted roughly 80 seconds ...Sunday's flight likely pushed the helicopter to its farthest distance yet: around 330 feet.

Mars helicopter achieves fastest, furthest flight yet

SpaceNut · 2021-04-26 19:15:54

Pushing the limits with each flight to determine what can be done Sunday, April 25th, was by far its most impressive trip yet. For the newest test, the helicopter was tasked with taking off to a height of 16 feet and then flying horizontally for 164 feet, or 50 meters.

aircraft reached a top speed of 6.6 feet per second (2 meters per second) or roughly 4.5 miles per hour.

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/nasa-s … ird-flight

SpaceNut · 2021-04-28 21:22:06

not a smooth flight video

It weighs just under 4lb and is only 19 inches tall as it has to fly in the much thinner atmosphere - about 1% that of the atmosphere found on Earth.
It can fly up to 980ft, go up to 16ft in the sky and can spend about 90 seconds in the air before landing.
The rotors are 4ft in diameter and the craft includes solar panels that charge lithium-ion batteries.

SpaceNut · 2021-04-29 21:40:16

The next flight will see the engineers pushing the helicopter limits of flight....
For the fourth flight, Balaram and his team want the helicopter to venture about 276 feet from its origin at an altitude of 16 feet. They're also upping the helicopter's airborne time from 80 seconds to 117 seconds and increasing its max airspeed from 4.5MPH to 8MPH.

Thats some big jumps in performance....but it did not happen and will try again tomorrow as software prevented it from lifting off....

tahanson43206 · 2021-04-30 14:17:44

For SpaceNut and all who may be following Ingenuity ...

Apparently the original plan to destroy Ingenuity by pushing it beyond it's capability has been changed....

About 25,900,000 results (0.59 seconds)
NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter has a new mission. Having proven that powered, controlled flight is possible on the Red Planet, the Ingenuity experiment will soon embark on a new operations demonstration phase, exploring how aerial scouting and other functions could benefit future exploration of Mars and other worlds.3 hours ago
NASA's Ingenuity Helicopter to Begin New Demonstration ...

I'm hoping other members will find articles to fill in details about the decision and the discussions at NASA that led to it.

(th)

SpaceNut · 2021-04-30 16:08:12

Not sure of its communications range but if it can stay out of freezing its batteries keep it really exploring as it had completed its goal of space flight on mars with no other considerations for its cost or what the team could give back from the high plain incite that it can give to earths many mars explorers.

Mars helicopter chalks up fourth successful flight kicking off a new phase of extended science operations for the $80 million drone.

Four flight achived

16 feet, tilted toward the south and flew some 436 feet out and back again before settling to a touchdown one minute and 57 seconds after liftoff.

which was faster and further than before....and still could have had other test flights to achive its goals....

For the next flight, the helicopter's fifth, "we will send Ingenuity on a one-way flight to transfer to the new airfield," Aung said during a briefing Friday. "After it arrives, we're going to work very closely with (the Perseverance team) to identify the new, operational products and scenarios that we want to test (going) forward. I can't tell you how excited we are about this new phase."

So where is this new location relative to the rover?
BB1geIEM.img?h=450&w=799&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f

New Mars Forums

Announcement

#76 2020-08-18 18:21:36

Re: Ingenuity, Scouting Mars by Helicopter

#77 2021-02-19 20:11:15

Re: Ingenuity, Scouting Mars by Helicopter

#78 2021-02-20 18:34:28

Re: Ingenuity, Scouting Mars by Helicopter

#79 2021-03-31 19:52:01

Re: Ingenuity, Scouting Mars by Helicopter

#80 2021-04-09 18:37:53

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#81 2021-04-10 08:40:54

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#82 2021-04-11 10:46:39

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#83 2021-04-11 10:46:56

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#84 2021-04-11 10:49:25

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#85 2021-04-11 19:27:30

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#86 2021-04-12 14:09:56

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#87 2021-04-13 04:24:54

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#88 2021-04-13 06:10:17

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#89 2021-04-13 19:43:27

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#90 2021-04-18 19:17:32

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#91 2021-04-19 09:46:01

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#92 2021-04-19 13:45:43

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#93 2021-04-19 18:04:57

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#94 2021-04-22 18:27:30

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#95 2021-04-25 12:17:23

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#96 2021-04-26 19:15:54

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#97 2021-04-28 21:22:06

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#98 2021-04-29 21:40:16

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#99 2021-04-30 14:17:44

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#100 2021-04-30 16:08:12

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