Thread by @weatherindia

#NASA's Ingenuity Helicopter Touches Down on #Mars' Surface Ahead of Historic First Flight on April 11

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(📸: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

#NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity has been dropped on the surface of the Red Planet ahead of its historic first flight scheduled for April 11.

#Mars

#Ingenuity flew to #Mars while being attached to the belly of #NASA's Perseverance rover, which made a February 18 touch down on the Red Planet.

The US space agency last week announced the decision to push back the date of the first attempt to fly the helicopter on #Mars from April 8 to April 11.

#MarsHelicopter #NASA

Flying in a controlled manner on #Mars is far more difficult than flying on Earth. The Red Planet has significant gravity (about one-third that of Earth's), but its atmosphere is just 1 per cent as dense as Earth's at the surface.

#MarsHelicopter #NASA

During Martian daytime, the planet's surface receives only about half the amount of solar energy that reaches Earth during its daytime, and nighttime temperatures can drop as low as minus 90 degrees Celsius, which can freeze and crack unprotected electrical components.

#Mars

To fit within the available accommodations provided by the Perseverance rover, the Ingenuity helicopter must be small.

#Mars #MarsHelicopter #NASA

To fly in the #Mars environment, it must be lightweight. To survive the frigid Martian nights, it must have enough energy to power internal heaters.

#MarsHelicopter #NASA

The system—from the performance of its rotors in rarified air to its solar panels, electrical heaters, and other components—has been tested and retested in the vacuum chambers and test labs of #NASA's JPL in Southern California.

#Mars #MarsHelicopter