What’s up with NASA’s Mars helicopter Ingenuity? The first plane on Mars apparently survived its first night alone on the Red Planet, and you can get the latest version today (April 5) with two live video updates.
At 13:00 EDT (1700 GMT) NASA will host the live Q&A session “Mars Helicopter Live Q&A: One Step Closer to First Flight”. You can watch the live video here on Space.com and via this YouTube channel from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. And if you have any questions you would like answered, you can ask them on social media with the hashtag #MarsHelicopter.
Immediately after the session, at 13:30 EDT (1730 GMT), the agency will have a live webinar, ‘Month of Ingenuity: Helicopter Flight Preview Webinar’, which interested parties can access here. Viewers can ask questions directly in the chat section of the webinar, which will provide updates on the rig while we anticipate the first flight.
NASA announced today that Ingenuity survived its first night on the Martian surface after being deployed by Perseverance Rover on Saturday (April 3). NASA expects Ingenuity to take its first flight on April 11.
Video: Watch NASA’s Mars helicopter unfold like a butterfly
Ingenuity flew to the Red Planet that was stopped in the belly of NASA’s Perseverance Rover. Since the rover successfully landed on the Jezero crater on Mars, the mission team has been working hard to get ready for Ingenuity’s historic first flight, which will be the first helicopter flight in another world.
First, the team had to find the right place for the vessel to fly. Then the rig slowly began to unfold from under the robber. This past Saturday, this past Saturday, the helicopter finally touched the surface of Mars after Perseverance dropped it (obviously, intentionally).
“The touch of #MarsHelicopter confirmed! The 471 million miles (471 million km) aboard @NASAPersevere ended with the last drop of 10 centimeters from the belly of the car to the surface of Mars. Officials of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of the NASA wrote in a Twitter announcement.
Officials concluded the tweet with ‘Next milestone? Survive the night ‘, but, as JPL announced today, the helicopter officially survived its first cold Mars night alone.
It takes a while before the helicopter unfolds and deploys before it is completely ready for flight. Once completely ready and deployed, the mission team hopes to have the small helicopter fly within 30 sols, or Mars days, (approximately 31 Earth days).
Email Chelsea Gohd at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter @chelsea_gohd. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.