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LAST UPDATE | 19 Apr 2021
NASA HAS MADE history after successfully completing the first powered, controlled flight on another planet.
The 1.8kg Ingenuity Mars Helicopter flew on the surface of Mars a number of hours ago, but data confirming the feat arrived shortly before 12pm Irish time.
The helicopter travelled to Mars attached to the underside of the rover Perseverance, which touched down on the planet on 18 February on a mission to search for signs of extraterrestrial life.
The space agency had originally planned the flight for 11 April but postponed it over a software issue that was identified during a planned high-speed test of the aircraft’s rotors.
“Each world gets only one first flight,” MiMi Aung, the Ingenuity project manager, said before the first attempt.
The first powered flight on Earth was achieved by the Wright brothers in 1903 in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. A piece of fabric from that plane has been tucked inside Ingenuity in honor of that feat.
Ingenuity’s goal, by contrast, is to demonstrate its technology works, and it won’t contribute to Perseverance’s science goals.
But it is hoped that Ingenuity can pave the way for future flyers that revolutionise our exploration of celestial bodies because they can reach areas that rovers can’t go, and travel much faster.
The timing of the helicopter flight was chosen with the weather on Mars in mind. Wind is the big unknown and could jeopardise the mission.
The flight was challenging because the air on Mars is so thin – less than 1% of the pressure of Earth’s atmosphere.
That makes it much harder to achieve lift, even though it was partly aided by a gravitational pull that is a third of Earth’s.
The helicopter rose for about six seconds, hovered and rotated for about 30 seconds, then descended again.
The flight was pre-programmed into the aircraft because of the 15 minutes it takes for signals to travel from Earth to Mars.
Ingenuity itself analysed its position with respect to the Martian surface.
After the flight, Ingenuity sent Perseverance technical data on what it has done, and that information was transmitted back to Earth, where the feat was confirmed.
The data included a black and white photo of the Martian surface that Ingenuity was programmed to snap while flying.
Later, once its batteries have charged up again, Ingenuity will transmit another photo – in colour, of the Martian horizon, taken with a different camera.
But the most spectacular images are supposed to come from the rover Perseverance, which will film the flight from a few meters away.
Shortly after this filming, six videos of 2.5 seconds each will be sent to Earth. NASA hopes at least one of them will show the helicopter in flight.
The entire video will be sent over the following few days.
“There will be surprises, and you will be learning about them right at the same time that we will. So let’s all get the popcorn,” said Elsa Jensen, who oversees the cameras on the rover.
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Jesus I hope Enda’s ok, I’d hate to have to cancel tonight…
I hope Mr. Chavez recovers.
Enda was NEVER ok.
Hope he’ll pull through. He is an inspiration.
Go live there then seeing as you love him!
What unusual logic. I also admire Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Does that mean I should go live in Colombia?
An inspiration to who, exactly?
He is indeed. Hope the poor man pulls through. Long live the revolution!
Have you lived there?
Can we send all our lefties there? They’d soon start leaning right
You don’t lean right.
You goosestep right.
Smashing news 2013 could get off to a fantastic start if he pops his clogs.
Wishing death on another person is repellent.
Ha what I said is mild compared to some of the stuff posted under articles about George Bush Sr & Margaret Thatchers declining health. Selective outrage as usual.
But Cian you are forgetting that he is an anti western, anti American left winger. Sure isn’t he only a saint to the true believers. To us he is just another commie authoritarian.
What a disgusting comment it says more about you than chavez
Why don’t we euthanize kids like Cian so that 2013 eliminates the nasty rightwingers.
Petr, may I remind you of your comment towards George bush senior the other day?! You are such a hypocrit!
Declan — I dislike Bush. I like Chavez. Where is the hypocrisy?
Petr, you said above that “wishing death on someone is repellant”
I’m sure that with your comments on Bush senior the other day you were wishing the same on him.
Btw this revolution that you want, what this it entail? what is the end result? What are you revolting against? will you be doing it by force of arms resulting in death or through the ballot box? If I don’t take part would you send me off to a reeducation camp?
But Declan, I didn’t wish death upon Bush Snr., so there’s no hypocrisy.
With all their oil they have to go to Cuba for Hospital treatment !
Cuba has one of the best medical service in the world. A supposed first world country such as Ireland could learn a lot from it! But then again, as long as this place is full of corrupt, greedy people, it doesn’t matter about the lower order.
I think the main reason he got treatment in Cuba was that Cuba can guarantee there’ll be no leaks about his condition; whereas that’s not the case in Venezuela.
@Rodrigo – And Cuba isn’t corrupt?
Cuba has a two tier system – one for party apparatchiks and foreign USD contributors and another for Cuban Joe Soaps. Whoever believes a country on $2000 GDP per capita can support a first word healthcare system for everyone is a fool.
If Cuba was not blockaded for the last half century at the instigation of the deported mafiosi, who were busy turning it another Haiti like the Duvaliers, conditions might be a little better.
If spineless Kenny went sick we would celebrate for 2 days.
And if the whole cabinet got sick with him, I’d celebrate forever.
Don’t worry – 2016 is coming.
They are sick. And sickening.
Ah no Mark not another End of World prophecy…
Cian, get out tonight and get yourself laid. I think you could use a good ride
God bless Hugo Chavez! Can’t believe Thatcher may outlive this hero of the oppressed. I hope Venezuela can resist pressure from the political right and more importantly any interference from US imperialist interest.
I am curious. What model of socialist paradise would you and the rest of your left wing friends have us follow? Would it be the old Soviet model or maybe the Maoist Chinese one or could it be the North Korean Kim dynasty or if you really want to go for it the Khmer Rouge version?
Which capitalist paradise do you most admire, Mick?
Leopold’s Congo, Ireland in the 1840s, Haiti today, Chile under Pinochet, Hitler’s corporate Nazism, Nigeria under its Shell democracy…or America with its megawealthy amidst squalor, violence and the greatest per capita prison population on the planet and a military with the capacity to sterilise the planet by remote control while they look for water on Mars?
Or maybe you like the soup kitchens by the golfing hotels of modern Ireland with its collapsing health services amid swimming pools for remediation of fetlock-sprained thoroughbred racehorses on a taxpayer supported industry while childrens’ hospitals shake buckets in the streets to keep wards open.
Do tell.
Well Damien I quite prefer any Democratic capitalist system. There at least the people get to choose and change the government. Can you say the same for the Communist ones. But as you answered may you would like to tell us which of the Socialist Edens you would like to see imposed on us?
I’ll quite happily join join you in that democratic capitalist country when I identify one where there is real democratic input into the management of capital for the benefit of the demos(people), rather than the current degenerating set up where private corporate capital controls resources and populations for no other purpose than further capital accumulation as a numerologically addicted end in itself, for the sake of the ‘game’.
Its neither democratic, adult or even sane; unless you consider the neoliberal resource warmongering of the past decade to be such, or the wholesale export of food during our 19th century famines to be so, or the barbarity of Viet Nam.
@ Gingerman.. Who in their right mind would ride him!!!!
Or any Chelsea fan for that matter :)
So what you are saying that your vote here in Ireland is completely wasted. And so is the vote of every Irish citizen because as you believe that the big multi-nationals choose the Government!
have your say