The flight trajectory for Mars and corrective maneuvers; Spacecraft and fuel management; Radiation, microgravity, and astronaut health; Isolation and psychological issues Transcript for NASA to attempt helicopter flight on Mars Small team of NASA helicopter experts assisted JPL and verifying. If it succeeds, Ingenuity will prove that powered, controlled flight by an aircraft can be achieved at Mars, enabling future Mars missions to potentially add an aerial dimension to their explorations with second-generation rotorcraft. MEDLI2 was one of the crucial technologies onboard the rover’s protective aeroshell that helped document the entry, descent, and landing of the spacecraft. This marks the first time the helicopter has been powered up and its batteries have been charged in the space environment. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech. “Every step we have taken since this journey began six years ago has been uncharted territory in the history of aircraft,” said Bob Balaram, Mars Helicopter chief engineer at JPL. For two decades, the longest-lived spacecraft at the Red Planet has helped locate water ice, assess landing sites, and study the planet’s mysterious moons. The helicopter is scheduled to lift off close to the end of the day on April 11. The rover will characterize the planet’s geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust). The space agency cautioned that taking flight on Mars faces many more hurdles than flying on Earth -- including different gravity levels and atmospheric density. Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Deployment Test: In this photo taken on Oct. 1, 2019, the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover and the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter (between left and center rover wheels) have just completed a multiweek evaluation under Mars-like conditions inside a vacuum chamber at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “Once we start the deployment there is no turning back. NASA’s newest Mars rover used a camera on the end of its robotic arm to snap this shot of itself with the Ingenuity helicopter nearby. Flight to Mars is a 1951 American Cinecolor science fiction film drama, produced by Walter Mirisch for Monogram Pictures, directed by Lesley Selander, that stars Marguerite Chapman, Cameron Mitchell, and Arthur Franz.. This milestone also initiates the 30-sol clock during which time all preflight checks and flight tests must take place. Managed by the Mars Exploration Program and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter received a checkout and recharge of its power system on Friday, Aug. 7, one week into its near seven-month journey to Mars with the Perseverance rover. The Wright brothers made four flights that day, each longer than the previous. At that point, only a single bolt and a couple dozen tiny electrical contacts will connect the helicopter to Perseverance. An illustration of the Ingenuity helicopter in flight on Mars, observed by the Perseverance rover. Flight tests of Ingenuity are scheduled to begin in early April and last one month. If Ingenuity survives the cold Martian nights during its preflight checkout, the team will proceed with testing. Ingenuity remains attached to the belly of NASA’s Perseverance rover, which touched down on Mars Feb. 18. The small rotorcraft’s “Wright brothers moment” is two Mars days away. To survive the frigid Martian nights, it must have enough energy to power internal heaters. Download video ›, “Ingenuity is an experimental engineering flight test – we want to see if we can fly at Mars,” said MiMi Aung, project manager for Ingenuity Mars Helicopter at JPL. Bring the excitement of Ingenuity into classrooms and homes through NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement toolkit. Several factors will determine the precise time for the flight, including modeling of local wind patterns plus measurements taken by the Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA) aboard Perseverance. Orville and Wilbur Wright covered 120 feet in 12 seconds during the first flight. Perseverance is a robotic scientist weighing just under 2,300 pounds (1,025 kilograms). Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech. Ingenuity, NASA's miniature Mars helicopter, is nearly ready to make history with the first powered flight on another planet. Do you like solving problems, working with other people, and making a difference? 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