Ingenuity (helicopter)

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"Mars helicopter" redirects here. For Mars aircraft in general, see Mars aircraft.
"Wright Brothers Field" redirects here. For other uses, see Wright Field (disambiguation).

Ingenuity
Part of Mars 2020
A robotic helicopter on the Mars surface in 2021
Ingenuity on Mars at Wright Brothers Field, photographed by Perseverance on April 7, 2021 (sol 46)
Other name(s)
  • Mars 2020 helicopter
  • Ginny
TypeExtraterrestrial autonomous UAV helicopter
ManufacturerJet Propulsion Laboratory (NASA)
RegistrationIGY
Technical details
Dimensions
  • Fuselage (body): 13.6 cm × 19.5 cm × 16.3 cm (5.4 in × 7.7 in × 6.4 in)[1]
  • Landing legs: 0.384 m (1 ft 3.1 in)[1]
DiameterRotors: 1.2 m (4 ft)[1][2][3]
Height0.49 m (1 ft 7 in)[1]
Landing mass
  • Total: 1.8 kg (4.0 lb)[1][3]
  • Batteries: 273 g (9.6 oz)
Power350 watts[1][4]
Flight history
First flight19 April 2021, 07:34 (UTC)
Launch date30 July 2020, 11:50:00 UTC
Launch siteCape Canaveral, SLC-41
Last flight16 August 2021
Landing date18 February 2021, 20:55 UTC
Landing site18°26′41″N 77°27′03″E / 18.4447°N 77.4508°E / 18.4447; 77.4508
Jezero crater
Octavia E. Butler Landing
Flights12
Total hours00:21:48.5 hours
Distance travelled2.67 km (1.66 mi)[5]
as of 16 August 2021
Status
Instruments
  • Inertial sensors
  • Laser altimeter
  • Two video cameras
Mars Helicopter JPL insignia.svg
JPL's Mars Helicopter insignia
NASA Mars helicopters
Mars Science Helicopter[10] →

Ingenuity is a small robotic helicopter operating on Mars as part of NASA's Mars 2020 mission. On April 19, 2021, it successfully completed the first powered controlled flight by an aircraft on a planet besides Earth, taking off vertically, hovering and landing.[11][12] With twelve successful flights as of August 16, 2021, the solar-charged battery-powered coaxial drone rotorcraft designed for a technology demonstration of the potential use of flying probes on future missions to Mars and other worlds,[13][14][1][15] now performs the operations demonstration of scouting locations of interest for the Perseverance rover.

Ingenuity was built by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Other contributors include AeroVironment, Inc., the NASA Ames Research Center, the NASA Langley Research Center,[16] SolAero, and Lockheed Martin Space.[17]

During its 30-day technology demonstration campaign, Ingenuity was intended to fly up to five times at altitudes ranging 3–5 m (10–16 ft) above the ground for up to 90 seconds each.[1][18] In that period, it showed the ability to meet the challenge of flying in an extremely thin atmosphere of another planet over a hundred million miles from Earth without direct human control. Ingenuity uses autonomous control during its flights, which are telerobotically planned and scripted by operators at Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).

Ingenuity travelled to Mars attached to the underside of Perseverance, which touched down at the Octavia E. Butler Landing site in Jezero crater on February 18, 2021.[6][7][8] The helicopter was deployed at the surface on April 3, 2021,[19][20] and Perseverance drove approximately 100 m (330 ft) away to allow the drone a safe "buffer zone" in which it made its first flight on 19 April 2021 at 07:15 UTC.[21][22] Ingenuity rose 3 m (9.8 ft), hovered and descended back to the surface for a total flight time of 39.1 seconds).[23] Success was confirmed three hours later in a livestreaming TV feed of JPL mission control.[24][25][26]

Ingenuity carries a piece of fabric from the wing of the 1903 Wright Flyer, the Wright Brothers' airplane used in the first controlled powered heavier-than-air flight on Earth. The initial take-off and landing area for Ingenuity is named Wright Brothers Field as a tribute.[27] Before Ingenuity, the first flight of any kind on a planet beyond Earth was an unpowered balloon flight on Venus, by the Soviet Vega 1 spacecraft in 1985.[28]

The expected lateral range was exceeded in the third flight, and the flight duration was exceeded in the fourth flight on April 30. With those technical successes, Ingenuity achieved its original objectives. NASA then planned more flights as operations demonstrations, hoping to show how future missions can work collaboratively.[29][30] On its fourth flight, April 30, 2021, Ingenuity became the first interplanetary spacecraft whose sound was recorded by another interplanetary spacecraft, the Perseverance rover.[31]

Design[]

Diagram showing the components of Ingenuity
Flight characteristics of Ingenuity
Rotor speed 2400 rpm[1][3]
Blade tip speed <0.7 Mach[32]
Originally planned operational time 1 to 5 flights within 30 sols[1][4]
Flight time Up to 167 seconds per flight[33]
Maximum range, flight 625 m (2,050 ft)[33]
Maximum range, radio 1,000 m (3,300 ft)[15]
Maximum planned altitude 12 m (39 ft)
Maximum possible speed
  • Horizontal: 10 m/s (33 ft/s)[16]
  • Vertical: 3 m/s (9.8 ft/s)[16]
Battery capacity 35–40 Wh (130–140 kJ)[34]

The lower gravity of Mars (about a third of Earth's) only partially offsets the thinness of the 95% carbon dioxide atmosphere of Mars[35] thus making much harder for an aircraft to generate adequate lift. The atmospheric density of the Red Planet is about 1⁄100 as that of Earth at sea level, or approximately the same as at 87,000 ft (27,000 m) above it, an altitude that has never been reached by existing helicopters. Thus to keep Ingenuity aloft, its specially shaped blades of enlarged size must rotate at a speed at least 2400 and up to 2900 rpm, or about 10 times faster[2] than what is needed on Earth.[36][37] The helicopter uses contra-rotating coaxial rotors about 1.2 m (4 ft) in diameter. Each rotor is controlled by a separate swashplate that can affect both collective and cyclic pitch.[38]

There are two cameras on board: the downward-looking black-and-white navigation camera (NAV) and the color camera to make terrain images for return to Earth (RTE).[15] Although it is an aircraft, it was constructed to spacecraft specifications in order to endure the acceleration and vibrations during launch.[37] It also includes radiation-resistant systems capable of operating in the frigid environment of Mars. The inconsistent Mars magnetic field precludes the use of a compass for navigation, so Ingenuity relies upon different sensors grouped in two sensor assemblies. All sensors are commercial off-the-shelf units.

The Upper Sensor Assembly with associated vibration isolation elements is mounted on the mast as close to the center-of-mass of the vehicle to minimize the effects of angular rates and accelerations. It consists of a cellphone grade Bosch BMI-160 Inertial measurement unit (IMU) and an inclinometer (Murata SCA100T-D02) which is used only on the ground prior to flight to calibrate the IMU accelerometers biases. The Lower Sensor Assembly consists of an altimeter (Garmin LIDAR Lite v3), both cameras and a secondary IMU, all mounted directly onto the Electronics Core Module and not onto the mast. The downfacing Omnivision OV7251 global-shutter supports the visual odometry. The image derived velocimetry produces navigation solutions calculated from helicopter position, velocity, attitude, and other auxiliary variables.[15]

Helicopter uses solar panels to recharge its batteries, which are six Sony Li-ion cells with 35–40 Wh (130–140 kJ) of energy capacity[34] (nameplate capacity of 2 Ah).[15] The flight duration is not constrained by the available energy but by the waste heat that heats up the motors during flight at a rate of 1 K/s.[39]

The helicopter uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor with a Linux operating system.[40] Among other functions, this processor controls the visual navigation algorithm via a velocity estimate derived from features tracked with a navigation camera.[41] The Qualcomm processor is connected to two flight-control microcontroller units (MCUs) to perform the necessary flight-control functions.[15]

The telecommunication system consists of two identical radios with monopole antennae which support the bilateral data exchange between the helicopter and the rover. The radio link is built upon the low-power Zigbee communication protocols, implemented via 914 MHz SiFlex 02 chipsets mounted in both the rover and helicopter.[42] The communication system is designed to relay data at 250 kbit/s over distances of up to 1,000 m (3,300 ft). Antenna located on the solar panel of the helicopter weights 4 grams[43] and may communicate equally in all directions.[42]

The Mars Helicopter Team in 2018.
See the full list of employees in the photo description at Wikipedia Commons
Some of the Ingenuity team in 2019

The team[]

Prehistory of the Mars Helicopter team dates back to 2012, when MiMi Aung was leading then JPL director Charles Elachi on a tour of the Autonomous Systems Division. Looking at the drones demonstrating onboard navigation algorithms in one of the labs, «Elachi turned to chief financial officer Ren�� Fradet and asked, “Hey, why don’t we do that on Mars?” Bob Balaram briefed Elachi about his findings, and in a week Elachi told him, “Okay, I’ve got some study money for you.”» But the actual history of the team began in January 2015 when NASA agreed to fund the development of a full-size iteration, which came to be known as the “risk reduction” vehicle. As project manager, Aung assembled a multidisciplinary team of scientists, engineers, and technicians leveraging all of NASA’s expertise.[44]

The team employs not more than 65 full-time-equivalent employees of JPL, to whom one should add more than 150 people who worked on the program at AeroVironment, and the NASA research centers at Ames and Langley.[44] The most known from mass media and as the authors of regular status reports published in the Ingenuity’s blog at NASA are:

On June 15, 2021, the team behind Ingenuity was named the 2021 winner of the John L. “Jack” Swigert, Jr. Award for Space Exploration from the Space Foundation.[59]

Conceptual design[]

NASA's JPL and AeroVironment published the conceptual design in 2014 for a scout helicopter to accompany a rover.[16][60][61] By mid 2016, US$15 million was being requested to keep development of the helicopter on track.[62] By December 2017, engineering models of the vehicle had been tested in a simulated Martian atmosphere[15][2] and models were undergoing testing in the Arctic, but its inclusion in the mission had not yet been approved nor funded.[63] The United States federal budget, announced in March 2018, provided US$23 million for the helicopter for one year[64][65] and it was announced on May 11, 2018 that the helicopter could be developed and tested in time to be included in the Mars 2020 mission.[66] The helicopter underwent extensive flight-dynamics and environment testing,[15][67] and was then mounted on the underside of the Perseverance rover in August 2019.[68] Its mass is just under 1.8 kg (4.0 lb)[67] and JPL has specified that it is planned to have a design life of five flights on Mars.[69][66] NASA has invested about US$80 million to build Ingenuity and about US$5 million to operate the helicopter.[70]

In April 2020, the vehicle was named Ingenuity by Vaneeza Rupani, a girl in the 11th grade at Tuscaloosa County High School in Northport, Alabama, who submitted an essay into NASA's "Name the Rover" contest.[71][72] Known in planning stages as the Mars Helicopter Scout,[32] or simply the Mars Helicopter,[3] the nickname Ginny later entered use in parallel to the parent rover Perseverance being affectionately referred to as Percy.[73]

Ingenuity was designed to be a technology demonstrator by JPL to assess whether this technology can fly safely. Before Ingenuity was built, launched and landed, hopes were expressed that future helicopters shall provide better mapping and guidance that would give future mission controllers more information to help with travel routes, planning and hazard avoidance.[74][75][76] Basing upon the performance of previous rovers up to Curiosity, it was assumed that such scouting may enable future rovers to safely drive up to three times as far per sol.[77][78] However, enabling the AutoNav capability at Perseverance significantly reduced this advantage, allowing the rover to cover more than 100 meters per sol.[79]

Preliminary tests on Earth[]

In 2019, preliminary designs of Ingenuity were tested on Earth in simulated Mars atmospheric and gravity conditions. For flight testing, a large vacuum chamber was used to simulate the very low pressure of the atmosphere of Mars – filled with carbon dioxide to approximately 0.60% (about 1⁄160) of standard atmospheric pressure at sea level on Earth – which is roughly equivalent to a helicopter flying at 34,000 m (112,000 ft) altitude in the atmosphere of Earth. In order to simulate the much reduced gravity field of Mars (38% of Earth's), 62% of Earth's gravity was offset by a line pulling upwards during flight tests.[34] A "wind-wall" consisting of almost 900 computer fans was used to provide wind in the chamber.[80][81]:1:08:05–1:08:40

Future Mars rover design iteration[]

Mars Science Helicopter, Ingenuity's proposed successor

The Ingenuity technology demonstrator could form the foundation on which more capable aircraft might be developed for aerial exploration of Mars and other planetary targets with an atmosphere.[74][15][82] The next generation of rotorcraft could be in the range between 5 and 15 kg (11 and 33 lb) with science payloads between 0.5 and 1.5 kg (1.1 and 3.3 lb). These potential aircraft could have direct communication to an orbiter and may or may not continue to work with a landed asset.[20] Future helicopters could be used to explore special regions with exposed water ice or brines, where Mars microbial life could potentially survive.[70][15]

Data collected by Ingenuity is supporting planning of a future helicopter design by engineers at JPL, NASA’s Ames Research Center and AeroVironment. The Mars Science Helicopter, a proposed Ingenuity's successor, would be a hexacopter, or six-rotor helicopter, with a mass of about 30 kg (66 lb) compared to 1.8 kg (4.0 lb) of Ingenuity. Mars Science Helicopter could carry as much as 5 kg (11 lb) of science payloads and fly up to 10 km (6.2 mi) per flight.[10]

Mission profile[]

After deployment, the rover drove approximately 100 m (330 ft) away from the drone to allow a safe flying zone.[19][20] The Ingenuity helicopter was expected to fly up to five times during a 30-day test campaign, early in the rover's mission.[1][18]

Ingenuity, fully deployed.

Each flight was planned for altitudes ranging 3–5 m (10–16 ft) above the ground, though Ingenuity soon exceeded that planned height.[1] Operations Lead Tim Canham and Aung said the first flight would be a stationary hover at an altitude of 3 m (9.8 ft), lasting about 40 seconds and including taking a picture of the rover. The first flight succeeded, and subsequent flights were increasingly ambitious as allotted time for operating the helicopter dwindled. JPL said the mission might even stop before the 30-day period ended, in the likely event that the helicopter crashed,[81]:0:49:50–0:51:40 an outcome which did not occur. In up to 90 seconds per flight, Ingenuity could travel as far as 50 m (160 ft) downrange and then back to the starting area, though that goal was also soon exceeded with the fourth flight.[1][83] The helicopter uses autonomous control during its flights, which are telerobotically planned and scripted by operators at Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). It communicates with the Perseverance rover directly before and after each landing.[81]:1:20:38–1:22:20

After the successful first three flights, the objective was changed from technology demonstration to operational demonstration. The goal shifted towards supporting the rover science mission by mapping and scouting the terrain.[84] While Ingenuity would do more to help Perseverance, the rover would pay less attention to the helicopter and stop taking pictures of it in flight. JPL managers said the photo procedure took an "enormous" amount of time, slowing the project's main mission of looking for signs of ancient life.[85] On 30 April 2021, the fourth flight successfully captured numerous color photos and explored the surface with its black-and-white navigation camera.[83] On May 7, Ingenuity successfully flew to a new landing site.

Operational history[]

Comparison of total distance traveled between Ingenuity and Perseverance.[a]
Tracks and locations of Perseverance and Ingenuity as of August 5 2021. Live NASA link here

Perseverance dropped the debris shield protecting Ingenuity on March 21, 2021, and the helicopter deployed from the underside of the rover to the Martian surface on April 3, 2021.[9] That day, the helicopter took its first color photo of the floor of Jezero Crater.[86][87][88]

Ingenuity's rotor blades were successfully unlocked on April 8, 2021 (mission sol 48), and the helicopter performed a low-speed rotor spin test at 50 rpm.[89][90][91][92]

A high-speed spin test was attempted on April 9, but failed due to the expiration of a watchdog timer, a software measure to protect the helicopter from incorrect operation in unforeseen conditions.[93] On April 12, JPL said it identified a software fix to correct the problem.[22] To save time, however, JPL decided to use a workaround procedure, which managers said had an 85% chance of succeeding and would be "the least disruptive" to the helicopter.[94]

On April 16, 2021, Ingenuity successfully passed the full-speed 2400 rpm rotor spin test while remaining on the surface.[95][25] Three days later, April 19, JPL flew the helicopter for the first time. The watchdog timer problem occurred again when the fourth flight was attempted. The team rescheduled the flight, which succeeded on April 30. On June 25, JPL said it had uploaded a software update the previous week to permanently fix the watchdog problem, and that a rotor spin test and the eighth flight confirmed that the update worked.[50]

The Ingenuity team plans to fly the helicopter every two to three weeks until the end of August, after which the Perseverance rover will bring its surface operations to a halt. This will be necessary to prepare the rover for Mars solar conjunction happening in mid-October, the time when Mars will move behind the Sun, blocking communications between the rover on Mars and the mission control team on Earth.[96][97]

List of flights[]

Flight No. Date (UTC)
(Sol) 		Duration (sec) Max Altitude Horizontal Distance Max Groundspeed Route Summary
1 April 19, 2021 at 07:34
(Sol 58) 		39.1 3 m (9.8 ft) 0 m (0 ft) 0 m/s (0 mph) Vertical takeoff, stationary hover, land at Wright Brothers field 18°26′41″N 77°27′04″E / 18.44486°N 77.45102°E / 18.44486; 77.45102 The first powered flight by any aircraft on another planet. While hovering, it rotated in place 96 degrees in a planned maneuver. The black and white photographs it took of the ground directly below during flight confirmed success and were received at 11:30 UTC.[11][98]
2 April 22, 2021 at 09:33
(Sol 61) 		51.9 5 m (16 ft) 4 m (13 ft) Roundtrip 0.5 m/s (~1 mph) Hover, shift westward 2 m (6.6 ft), hover, return, hover, land[99][100] 18°26′41″N 77°27′04″E / 18.44486°N 77.45102°E / 18.44486; 77.45102 From its initial hover, it tilted 5 degrees, allowing the rotors to fly it 2 meters sideways. It stopped, hovered in place, and rotated counterclockwise, yawing from +90° to 0° to -90° to -180°, in 3 steps, to point its horizon-facing color camera in various directions to take photos. It flew back to its takeoff location at the center of the airfield and landed. Confirmation data began arriving at 13:20 UTC.[101]
3 April 25, 2021 at 11:31
(Sol 64) 		80.3 5 m (16 ft) 100 m (330 ft) Roundtrip 2 m/s (~4.5 mph) Hover, shift northward 50 m (160 ft), return, hover, land[53][102] 18°26′41″N 77°27′04″E / 18.44486°N 77.45101°E / 18.44486; 77.45101 This was first flight to venture some distance from the helicopter's deployment spot and return. It flew downrange 50 meters, maintaining altitude and reaching a top speed of two meters per second. The downward-facing black and white navigation camera helped Ingenuity keep track of its position above the ground. It hovered at its destination, then flew back to the takeoff spot, hovered and landed.[103] Data from the flight was received at 14:16 UTC.[102]
4 April 29, 2021[104][105] (Sol 68) First attempt of flight 4 failed Reason: the onboard software did not transition to the flight mode.[29]
April 30, 2021 at 14:49.[83]
(Sol 69) 		116.9 5 m (16 ft) 266 m (873 ft) Roundtrip 3.5 m/s (~8 mph) Hover, shift southward 84 m (276 ft), hover, return, hover, land[106] 18°26′41″N 77°27′04″E / 18.44486°N 77.45112°E / 18.44486; 77.45112 Took black and white images for every 1.2 m (4 ft) while travelling between 84 m (276 ft) and 133 m (436 ft) and color images while hovering at its farthest point from takeoff. A record number of images for a 3D map (about 60 total) made during the last 50 m (160 ft) before returning to the takeoff site.[83] On May 7 NASA confirmed the Perseverance rover recorded both audio and video of Ingenuity during the fourth flight,[107] making the helicopter the first interplanetary vehicle whose sound was heard and recorded by another interplanetary vehicle. In this flight, Ingenuity overtook Perseverance in the distance it travelled for the first time.
5 May 7, 2021 at 19:26[108]
(Sol 76) 		108.2 10 m (33 ft) 129 m (423 ft) 2 m/s (~4.5 mph) Hover, shift southwards 129 m (423 ft), climb to 10 m (33 ft), hover, land at Airfield B 18°26′34″N 77°27′05″E / 18.44267°N 77.45139°E / 18.44267; 77.45139 This was the first flight to land at a new location. Ingenuity flew to a site 129 m (423 ft) to the south.[109] On arrival, it gained altitude, hovered, captured a few high-resolution color images of area terrain and did not return to the departure point, but landed at that new site, Airfield B.[39][110] This flight marked the end of the technology demonstration phase, which had the goal of proving an aircraft could fly on Mars.
6 May 23, 2021 at 5:20[111][112][55]
(Sol 91) 		139.9 10 m (33 ft) 215 m (705 ft) with direction changes 4 m/s (~9 mph) Shift southwest about 150 m (490 ft), southward about 15 m (49 ft), northeast about 50 m (160 ft), land near Airfield C 18°26′30″N 77°27′00″E / 18.44166°N 77.44994°E / 18.44166; 77.44994 The flight had a problem towards the end of the first leg, when a glitch in the navigation camera system caused all following images to be marked with incorrect timestamps. This resulted in the craft tilting forward and backward up to 20 degrees, with large spikes in power consumption. Ingenuity continued flying the next two legs in that mode and landed about 5 m (16 ft) away from the planned site, assumed as its Airfield C. This was the first time it experienced an anomaly.[55][113] The flight also was the first in the operation demonstration phase following the technology demonstration.

Other Highlights:

  • Collect color stereo imagery of a site of interest to help demonstrate the value of an aerial perspective for future missions.
  • First flight in which the helicopter landed at an airfield which it did not survey from the air during a previous mission.
7 June 6, 2021[50] (Sol 105) First attempt of flight 7 failed …
June 8, 2021 at 15:54[114][115][116]
(Sol 107) 		62.8[117] 10 m (33 ft)[118] 106 m (348 ft) 4 m/s (~9 mph) Shift southward 106 m (348 ft) to land at Airfield D 18°26′24″N 77°27′01″E / 18.43988°N 77.45015°E / 18.43988; 77.45015 Ingenuity flew 106 m (348 ft) south to a new landing spot and landed at Airfield D. The color camera was not used to prevent glitch of flight 6 happening again.
8 June 22, 2021 at 0:27[119][120]
(Sol 121) 		77.4 10 m (33 ft) 160 m (520 ft) 4 m/s (~9 mph) Shift southsoutheast 160 m (520 ft) to land at Airfield E[50] 18°26′14″N 77°27′03″E / 18.43724°N 77.45079°E / 18.43724; 77.45079 Ingenuity flew about 160 m (520 ft) south to land at Airfield E, about 133.5 m (438 ft) away from Perseverance. Just like the last flight, the color camera was not used to prevent the glitch of flight 6 happening again. The bug was fixed before flight 9.[50]
9 July 5, 2021 at 9:03[49][56][121]
(Sol 133) 		166.4 10 m (33 ft) 625 m (2,051 ft) 5 m/s (~11 mph) Shift southwest 625 m (2,050 ft) to Airfield F 18°25′41″N 77°26′44″E / 18.42809°N 77.44545°E / 18.42809; 77.44545 Ingenuity flew a record length of 625 m (2,050 ft) southwest, over , a prospective research location in Jezero crater, at a record speed of five meters per second. This was a risky flight, straining the navigation system, which assumed flat ground while Séítah had uneven sand dunes. This was partly mitigated with the helicopter flying slower over the more challenging regions of the flight. Due to these errors, Ingenuity landed 47 m (154 ft) from the center of the 50 m (160 ft) radius airfield. This flight made Ingenuity’s travel distance exceed Perseverance again and demonstrated that a helicopter, or drone, might study places rovers would not be able to visit.[49][122][56]
10 July 24, 2021 at 21:07[123][51]
(Sol 152) 		165.4[124] 12 m (39 ft)[51] 233 m (764 ft) with direction changes[125] 5 m/s (~11 mph) Loop south and west over Raised Ridges to Airfield G 18°25′41″N 77°26′37″E / 18.42808°N 77.44373°E / 18.42808; 77.44373 Ingenuity looped south and west over Raised Ridges, another prospective research location on Mars. Unlike the last one, Perseverance is planned to visit here. Ingenuity flew a total distance of 233 m (764 ft) past 10 waypoints, including takeoff and landing, at a record height of 12 m (39 ft). High resolution color images were taken at the waypoints for future study of Raised Ridges.[51]
11 August 5, 2021 at 4:53[58][126]
(Sol 164) 		130.9 12 m (39 ft) 383 m (1,257 ft) 5 m/s (~11 mph) Shift northwest 383 m (1,257 ft) to land at Airfield H 18°25′58″N 77°26′21″E / 18.43278°N 77.43919°E / 18.43278; 77.43919 This flight was primarily intended as a transition flight to move Ingenuity from its landing spot after the 10th flight to a spot where it can support its future science scoutings in the South Séítah region, a geologically interesting area for the Perseverance Rover.[58]
12 August 16, 2021 at 12:57[127][52]
(Sol 174) 		169.5 10 m (33 ft) ~450 m (1,480 ft) Roundtrip 4.3 m/s (~10 mph) Hover, shift east-northeast about 235 m (771 ft), hover, return, hover, land again at Airfield H 18°25′58″N 77°26′21″E / 18.43278°N 77.43919°E / 18.43278; 77.43919 Ingenuity flew east-northeast about 235 m (771 ft). After it arrived at the destination, the helicopter flew to the side 5 m (16 ft) to get side-by-side images that can be constructed into a 3D image. Keeping its camera in the same direction, it flew back to the takeoff point. JPL planned to take 10 color images to help Perseverance scientists decide which features will be worthy of more study.[52]

Flight Experience[b][]

Flight Property Since Deployment
(April 3, 2021/Sol 43) 		In Tech Demo Phase In Operations Demo Phase % Work Done Above
Tech Demo
Sols Achieved 139 30 109 309%
Number of Flights 12 5 7 140%
Distance Flown (m) 2.67 km (1.66 mi) 0.49 km (0.30 mi) 2.18 km (1.35 mi) 445%
Time Flown (s) 1308 s
(21 min 48 s) 		396 s
(6 min 36 s) 		912 s
(15 min 12 s) 		230%

Images[]

As of August 24, 2021, 1308 black-and-white images from the navigation camera (NAV)[128] and 72 color images from the terrain camera (RTE)[129] have been published.

Tributes to the Wright brothers[]

NASA and JPL officials described the first Ingenuity flight as their "Wright Brothers moment", by analogy to the first successful airplane flight on Earth.[27][130] A small piece of the wing cloth from the Wright brothers' 1903 Wright Flyer is attached to a cable underneath Ingenuity's solar panel.[131] In 1969, Apollo 11's Neil Armstrong carried a similar Wright Flyer artifact to the Moon in the Lunar Module Eagle.

NASA named Ingenuity's first take-off and landing airstrip Wright Brothers Field, which the UN agency ICAO gave an airport code of JZRO for Jezero Crater,[132] and the drone itself a type designator of IGY, call-sign INGENUITY.[133][134][135]

Gallery[]

Audio[]

Menu
0:00
Mars helicopter Ingenuity, heard flying on Mars on its fourth flight

Videos[]

Mars Ingenuity helicopter – test flights – April 2021
First test flight
(video; 00:57; 19 April 2021)
First test flight
(animated; video; 01:19)
Dust seen during first flight with timer (enh video; 00:46)
Second test flight
(00:21; 22 April 2021)
Third test flight
(01:16; 25 April 2021)
Fourth test (video+audio)
(02:44; 30 April 2021)

Maps of flights[]

The flight zone of the technical demonstration stage
The „Twitcher’s Point”[c]
The Wright Brothers Field and the overlook location
The Wright Brothers Field
View of the field from the rover
Rover track and Wright Brothers Field
Second helipad[d]
Flights’ paths of the operatios demonstration stage
Flights 1–9
Profile of flight 10
Profile of flight 11
Flights 1–11

Images by Perseverance[]

Flights on Mars – viewed by the Perseverance rover, flight 1–5
Ingenuity's first flight
(19 April 2021)
Ingenuity's first flight after 30 secs flying
Ingenuity's second flight
(22 April 2021)
Ingenuity's third flight
(25 April 2021)
Ingenuity after its third flight
Ingenuity's fourth flight
(30 April 2021)
Ingenuity's during fifth flight to Airfield B
(7 May 2021)[110]
Ingenuity at new Airfield B
(7 May 2021)[110]
Ingenuity landing of fifth flight on Airfield B (7 May 2021)
Flights on Mars – viewed by the Perseverance rover, flight 6–8
Ingenuity one day after its sixth flight (Sol 92)
Ingenuity four days after its seventh flight (Sol 111)
Ingenuity seven days after its eighth flight (Sol 127)

Additional images about the flights[]

Aircraft certification of Ingenuity to fly on Mars
Chief Pilot Håvard Fjær Grip, entering Ingenuity flight details in logbook
"Nominal Pilot's Logbook for Planets and Moons"
Ingenuity Logbook Entries for Flights 9 and 10
Ingenuity's first flight altimeter data showing the flight period
(19 April 2021)
Ingenuity's second flight test data[e]
(22 April 2021)

Animations of flights[]

Animations and slideshows of flights from photos acquired by cameras of Ingenuity
Flights 3 through 7
Flight 3 (April 25, 2021)
Flight 4 (April 30, 2021)
Flight 5 (May 7, 2021)
Flight 6 (May 23, 2021)
last 39 seconds
Flight 7 (June 8, 2021)
48 sec real-time animation
Flights 8 through 11
Flight 8 (June 22)
75 sec real-time animation
Flight 9 (July 5, 2021)
full real-time animation
Flight 10 (July 24, 2021)
full real-time animation
Flight 11 (August 5, 2021)
full real-time animation
Flight 11 (August 4, 2021)
color slideshow of 10 photos

Images by Ingenuity[]

Images from flights 1-5[f]
The first color image acquired at April 4, 2021)[g]
Ingenuity views its shadow while parked, 6 April 2021
Ingenuity's first in-flight image, flight one – altitude 1.2 m (3 ft 11 in) (19 April 2021)
Ingenuity landing on first flight (19 April 2021)
First color aerial image, flight two – altitude 5.2 m (17 ft) (April 22, 2021)
Flight 3, rover is seen left-up from the 5.0 m (16.4 ft) height
Flight 3, the rover (cropped and enlarged)
Ingenuity finds new Airfield B on fourth flight (30 April 2021)
Ingenuity's fifth flight from 10 m (33 ft) high (7 May 2021)
Perseverance rover (left) viewed about 85 m (279 ft) away from 5.0 m (16.4 ft) height (April 25, 2021)
Images from flights 6–9
Flight 6. View from 10 m (33 ft) towards Séítah
Flight 6. During the flight anomaly
Flight 7, above the terrain (8 June 2021)
Flight 8, landed (22 June 2021)
Flight 9. Flying over the Séítah
(July 5, 2021)
Flight 9. Animation from the flight images
Images from flights 10–12
Flight 10, over the Raised Ridges
(July, 24 2021)
Flight 10, before landing
Flight 11, heading north-west along Séítah
Perseverance Spotted By Ingenuity On Its 11th Flight
Flight 12, over Séítah

Deployment sequence[]

Ingenuity helicopter: out from under the Perseverance rover
Ingenuity in shield under rover; belly pan on surface
Debris shield removed after Rover repositioning
Deployment begins at new position
Legs deployed
Pre-flight testing
Successful deployment on Mars
Ingenuity helicopter rotor blades unlocked for flying
Ingenuity on sol 48[h]
Ingenuity gives its blades a slow-speed spin up test or 50 rpm test spin on sol 48
Ingenuity gives high-speed spin up test or 2400 rpm test spin on sol 55[h]
Ingenuity base station on rover

Self-portraits[]

Mars 2020 in Jezero crater on Mars containing Ingenuity helicopter — self-portraits
Ingenuity helicopter drop site, Wright Brothers Field
(April 2021)

See also[]

  • ARES – 2008 robotic Mars aircraft proposal
  • Atmosphere of Mars – Less than 1% of the Earth's atmosphere pressure and primarily composed of carbon dioxide (95% CO
    2    ), molecular nitrogen (2.8%, N2) and argon (2% Ar)
  • Coaxial rotors
  • Dragonfly – Robotic rotorcraft mission to Saturn's moon Titan, planned launch in 2027
  • Exploration of Mars
  • List of artificial objects on Mars
  • List of firsts in aviation
  • Sky-Sailor – 2004 proposal of a robotic Mars aircraft
  • Solar panels on spacecraft
  • Vega – The USSR space program that included the first atmospheric balloon flight on Venus, in 1985

External links[]

Notes[]

  1. ^ Flights 1 and 2 are not seen because they include little, if any, horizontal movement.
  2. ^ Numbers in chart are calculated by adding values from successive flight(s) to base values as shown in this NASA/JPL[52] update.
  3. ^ now named Van Zyl overlook
  4. ^ HiRISE's view of Ingenuity's fourth flight path paving the way for it to move to second airfield on its fifth flight
  5. ^ This is an animated gif containing sequence of images on second test flight. First image shows Ingenuity's rotor power during flight two. Second image shows Ingenuity's horizontal position relative to start during flight one hover. Third image shows Ingenuity's collective control during flight one. Fourth image shows Ingenuity's lower cyclic control on flight one. Similar cyclic controls applied on the upper rotor. Fifth image shows Ingenuity's estimate of vertical velocity during flight two.
  6. ^ All images taken by Ingenuity are from either its black-and-white downward-facing navigation camera[128] or from horizon-facing color camera;[129] landing legs are seen at the side edges of images
  7. ^ Perseverance Rover wheels are clearly seen in top corners
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b Please see the difference between the image on high-speed spin up test and the one on sol 48, that is the image on sol 48 has the upper blade in diagonal position while the high-speed spin up test has lower blade in diagonal position

References[]

Citations[]

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  47. ^ Status 288.
  48. ^ Status 301.
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  116. ^ Status 306.
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Status reports[]

Other NASA sources
  • Eric Ianson, Michael Meyer (14 June 2021). "Explore Mars" (pdf). NASA.
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