The Martian drone Ingenuity just completed 43 missions

(NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS https://go.nasa.gov/3YYW18F)

Ingenuity, the first Martian drone, made 43 flights in the atmosphere of the Red Planet, which became one of the longest.

The marscopter returned to normal operation due to an increase in battery charge at the end of daylight hours and is ready to begin climbing the ancient river delta.

Ingenuity became the first experimental unmanned vehicle to make a controlled flight in the atmosphere of another planet.

The drone is equipped with two coaxial propellers, each with a diameter of 1.2 meters, and the payload.

In addition to control systems and power supply, the drone has two cameras:

• navigation black and white
• color

The chassis consists of four support legs located on the sides of the body.

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CONTINUOUS FLIGHTS
When the drone landed on the surface of Mars in April 2021, experts were counting on a short flight program, lasting one month

During that time the device was supposed to make five flights.

However, NASA soon extended the flights indefinitely, and now the drone is conducting aerial reconnaissance of the area for the Perseverance rover.

An important achievement in assessing the survivability of the marscopter was to see if it could stand the Martian winter, although one of its instruments failed.

At the end of January of this year, engineers discovered that the drone's battery charge by the end of daylight hours began to exceed 90%.

This means the end of the "winter" mode of operation, according to which the helicopter was previously constantly turned off at night.

On February 16, 2023, Ingenuity made its 43rd flight to Mars, which became one of the longest.

For 146 seconds, the drone managed to fly in a horizontal direction of 390 meters, being at a height of 12 meters.

Now the total distance of helicopter flights is 8.82 kilometers.

At present, Ingenuity is ready to start climbing the ancient river delta in Lake Jezero Crater with the Perseverance rover.

However, NASA experts note that this will be a new and serious test for the helicopter.

Now the drone will have to fly in very rough terrain, and the quality of radio communication between the helicopter and the rover may deteriorate.

Sources:

• NASA: https://mars.nasa.gov/technology/helicopter/status/441/perseverances-four-legged-companion-is-ready/
• Space.com: https://www.space.com/mars-helicopter-ingenuity-43rd-red-planet-flight

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