Ingenuity, NASA’s miniature Mars helicopter, is almost ready to make history with the first powered flight on another planet.
The team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory announced Friday that they have completed final review of systems that the copter has integrated with the Perserverance Rover.
JPL chief engineers Farah Alibay and Timothy Canham said they were ready for the historic mission.
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“Yes, we are definitely very excited,” Canham said in an update. “At the moment, the helicopter is still attached to the rover. We keep it warm and nourished. We charge the batteries. And we are also working with Farah’s team to identify a final site for the helicopter. “
On Wednesday, JPL announced that it had selected the flight zone to deploy Ingenuity.
Alibay said the first thing her team needs to do to prepare for the next mission is to drop the debris shield that protects the helicopter, the delivery system and the rover from rocks and other dangers.
“Then we’re going to travel to the helicopter drop-off point for a few days,” she explained.
“Once we get there, it will take us about a week to deploy the helicopter,” Alibay said.
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About 60 days after the landing of Perseverance on February 18, the Mars helicopter delivery system will take the helicopter into use, turn and release it about five inches above the Martian surface.
The helicopter’s delivery system will remain linked to Perseverance for the rest of its time on Mars.
Canham said he worked very closely with Alibay’s team to make sure all orders were ready to fire and to identify the perfect, flat site for Ingenuity with not too many large rocks, but a good texture so the navigator cameras’ far across the surface. ‘
Following the release of Perseverance Ingenuity, the helicopter – which will be charged by its own solar panel – has a month-long window for up to five test flights which is not expected to start earlier than the first week of April.
On the ground, the rover will enable communication with mission controllers on Earth and support environmental monitoring and imaging.
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On Tuesday, NASA planned to hold a virtual briefing at 13:30 ET on the Ingenuity mission.
The information session will be broadcast live on NASA Television, the NASA app and the agency’s website and various social media platforms.