Photo: NASA JPL via Twitter
NASA's Ingenuity helicopter has been preparing to fly with a faster rotor speed to compensate for the lower atmospheric density caused by seasonal changes on the Red Planet. After a one-month delay, the rotorcraft has demonstrated that it can take to the Martian skies even in summer weather conditions.
For those of you who lost count, this is Ingenuity's 14th flight on Mars, and the machine shows no signs of slowing down. It's been a little over six months since the helicopter spun its blades for the first time in the thin atmosphere on Mars. Its 6th trip turned out to be one of its wildest ones, as the rotorcraft started to wobble due to a mid-air glitch caused by its navigational camera.
It managed to power through and returned to the sky better than ever to continue its aerial scouting job. After breaking its own speed record several times, Ingenuity had to face yet another challenge.
On September 18th, the little helicopter was supposed to take to the Martian sky for the 14th time and perform a brief hover flight that would have demonstrated its capability of flying with a higher rotor speed. But, during its pre-flight checkout, it encountered an anomaly in two of its servo motors, which allow the chopper to control its orientation and position during flight.
Ingenuity remained grounded for several weeks due to the solar conjunction, an event that takes place every two years in which the Sun passes between the Earth and the Red Planet, thus cutting communications between NASA and its spacecraft.
Now, after a brief period of blackout, connections are back. As a result, the agency finally tested Ingenuity's ability to fly in lower densities. Last week, Ingenuity performed a 50 rpm spin test without encountering any issue. And yesterday (Oct. 25th), the chopper did a "short hop" during its 14th flight on Mars.
Now that the helicopter is back in the Martian sky, more flights are expected to follow. According to NASA, this brief trip left "the team room for an rpm increase if needed for future flights."
It managed to power through and returned to the sky better than ever to continue its aerial scouting job. After breaking its own speed record several times, Ingenuity had to face yet another challenge.
On September 18th, the little helicopter was supposed to take to the Martian sky for the 14th time and perform a brief hover flight that would have demonstrated its capability of flying with a higher rotor speed. But, during its pre-flight checkout, it encountered an anomaly in two of its servo motors, which allow the chopper to control its orientation and position during flight.
Ingenuity remained grounded for several weeks due to the solar conjunction, an event that takes place every two years in which the Sun passes between the Earth and the Red Planet, thus cutting communications between NASA and its spacecraft.
Now, after a brief period of blackout, connections are back. As a result, the agency finally tested Ingenuity's ability to fly in lower densities. Last week, Ingenuity performed a 50 rpm spin test without encountering any issue. And yesterday (Oct. 25th), the chopper did a "short hop" during its 14th flight on Mars.
Now that the helicopter is back in the Martian sky, more flights are expected to follow. According to NASA, this brief trip left "the team room for an rpm increase if needed for future flights."
? Flight No. 14
— NASA JPL (@NASAJPL) October 25, 2021
The #MarsHelicopter successfully performed a short hop in its current airfield to test out higher rpm settings so it can fly in lower atmospheric densities on the Red Planet. This test also leaves the team room for an rpm increase if needed for future flights. pic.twitter.com/bYCMgnrTyz
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