What is Ingenuity Helicopter?

April 6, 2021

NASA recently announced that its Ingenuity Helicopter has been dropped on the surface of mars successfully and is in preparation for its first flight.

Ingenuity Helicopter

Ingenuity is a technology demonstration of powered flight in another planet.
NASA is to perform a series of test flights over thirty Martian days with the help of Ingenuity helicopter.
The main challenge of Ingenuity Helicopter is that it would have to survive temperatures as low as -130 degrees Fahrenheit. Such low temperatures could freeze and crack the onboard batteries in the craft. The helicopter has successfully survived the temperature.
The helicopter weighs 1.8 kilograms.
It is a solar powered helicopter. The energy from the solar array in the helicopter will power the helicopter and also keep it warm during night.
The full speed of the helicopter is 2,400 rpm.
It is to reach a maximum height of 4.6 metres in Mars.
The Ingenuity helicopter was dropped on the Martian surface by the Perseverance rover as a part of Mars 2020 mission.

Perseverance Rover

The Perseverance rover is an astrobiology mission. The mission aims to search signs of ancient microbial life in mars.
The mission will characterize the geology and past climate of the planet.
Perseverance is the first mission to collect Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust).
Curiosity is the predecessor of Perseverance rover.
The rover carries seven payload instruments, two micro phones and nineteen cameras.
It will drill the Martian soil and collect core samples of martian rocks.

Mars 2020 Mission

Mars 2020 mission was launched in July 2020. It is a part of Mars Exploration Programme of NASA. Mars 2020 mission was launched from Atlas V Launch vehicle.

It is one of the three missions launched to Mars in 2020. The other two Mars missions were as follows: