NASA delayed the first flight of its Ingenuity Mars helicopter after a major test turn of the drone’s blades suddenly stopped.
It was the last major test to make sure the helicopter would be ready for its first flight, originally scheduled for early Monday. Now, NASA has delayed the historic uplift – which would mean the first powered, controlled flight on another planet – until Wednesday.
For the test Friday, Ingenuity had to turn its blades at full speed while on the ground. The two blades must have rotated in opposite directions at more than 2,500 rotations per minute – about eight times faster than an Earth helicopter. On the day of the flight, they needed the speed to lift the 4-pound drone into the thin Mars atmosphere. The sky has only 1% the density of the Earth’s atmosphere, which compares the task of Ingenuity to flying three times higher than the peak of Mount Everest.
An artist concept of NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter flying through the air of Mars.
NASA / JPL-Caltech
But the test turn was abruptly stopped when a “watchdog” timer expired, NASA announced on Saturday. This timer ended the command sequence that instructed Ingenuity to perform each step of the test. The stop occurred when the command series tried to switch the helicopter’s flight computer from ‘pre-flight’ to ‘flight’.
“The watchdog timer monitors the command sequence and alerts the system of possible problems. It helps the system stay safe by not proceeding if a problem is detected and working as planned,” reads the NASA announcement.
It was not yet clear what the problem was, but NASA said the helicopter is “safe and sound” and communicates fully with mission controllers on Earth. The agency’s helicopter team is reviewing the test data to diagnose the problem. NASA will have to apply the full-speed turn again before Ingenuity can fly.
Ingenuity can fly up to five times on Mars
NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSSS / Seán Doran
Ingenuity traveled nearly 300 million miles to Mars that was stopped in the belly of the Perseverance Rover. It successfully unfolded itself from its underbelly shelter, sank to the ground, survived icy Mars nights alone, charged solar power and performed a series of system checks.
All the finishes and tests went well until Friday’s full speed turn.
“So far so good, knock on wood,” MiMi Aung, Ingenuity’s project manager, said in an briefing on Friday.
For its first flight, Ingenuity was supposed to lift itself about 10 feet in the air, soar and then lower itself safely back to the ground. If all goes well, Ingenuity could try up to four increasingly difficult flights.
NASA / JPL-Caltech
“We’re all a little nervous and excited at the same time,” Thomas Zurbuchen, the agency’s co-administrator of science, told Insider on Friday. “We’re all ready, but we’ll all feel better when it’s done – and successfully.”
This is a flight experiment designed to prove that rotorcraft technology can work on Mars. If successful, it could open the door for future space helicopters to study regions that robbers cannot reach – mountains, gorges and rocky terrain – or even explore for future Mars astronauts.
“Suppose it works in reality. What we will prove is that we can add an air dimension to discovery and exploration on Mars,” Zurbuchen said. “The air dimension naturally opens up aspects of science and total exploration that are honestly just our dreams at the moment.”