NASA
Mars first helicopter flight “ingenuity” on Monday as soon as possible
Small helicopter “creativity” on Mars. Photo: NASA / Jpl-Caltech / ZUMA Wire / dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
The small helicopter “ingenuity” was supposed to have been “flying high” on Mars long ago. A fresh attempt will start on Monday – most likely.
The first helicopter flight over another planet, which has been delayed several times, is supposed to take place on Monday at the earliest.
NASA announced that the next attempt at launch was scheduled early Monday morning (6.30 am CET). This attempt can also be delayed at short notice.
The first flight of the “Creativity” small helicopter, which landed on Mars in the “Persever” rover in February, was pre-planned on April 11, then was postponed to April 14 and then again due to technical problems. NASA said that NASA engineers are currently working on finding a solution to the helicopter’s software problems. The helicopter, powered by Li-ion batteries, is basically ready-to-use and in good condition.
“Creativity” is 1.8 kilograms high (German: creativity) to a height of about three meters on its first test flight, hovering there for thirty seconds and then landing again on Mars. It will be the first flight of a plane to another planet.
The helicopter must challenge extreme conditions: on Mars it is cool to minus 90 degrees at night, the planet’s gravity is less and the atmosphere is much thinner. The small helicopter was placed in the belly of “perseverance” (German: endurance) at the end of February – after 203 days of flight and 472 million kilometers of travel – with a risky maneuver in a dry Martian lake called “Jezero Crater”. Perseverance is to examine this lake, which has a diameter of about 45 kilometers, for the next two years.
