NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Succeeds in Historic First Flight

[krispos42]

Source: NASA

Apr 19, 2021
RELEASE 21-039
NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Succeeds in Historic First Flight

Monday, NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter became the first aircraft in history to make a powered, controlled flight on another planet. The Ingenuity team at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California confirmed the flight succeeded after receiving data from the helicopter via NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover at 6:46 a.m. EDT (3:46 a.m. PDT).

“Ingenuity is the latest in a long and storied tradition of NASA projects achieving a space exploration goal once thought impossible,” said acting NASA Administrator Steve Jurczyk. “The X-15 was a pathfinder for the space shuttle. Mars Pathfinder and its Sojourner rover did the same for three generations of Mars rovers. We don’t know exactly where Ingenuity will lead us, but today’s results indicate the sky – at least on Mars – may not be the limit.”

The solar-powered helicopter first became airborne at 3:34 a.m. EDT (12:34 a.m. PDT) – 12:33 Local Mean Solar Time (Mars time) – a time the Ingenuity team determined would have optimal energy and flight conditions. Altimeter data indicate Ingenuity climbed to its prescribed maximum altitude of 10 feet (3 meters) and maintained a stable hover for 30 seconds. It then descended, touching back down on the surface of Mars after logging a total of 39.1 seconds of flight. Additional details on the test are expected in upcoming downlinks.

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“Now, 117 years after the Wright brothers succeeded in making the first flight on our planet, NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter has succeeded in performing this amazing feat on another world,” Zurbuchen said. “While these two iconic moments in aviation history may be separated by time and 173 million miles of space, they now will forever be linked. As an homage to the two innovative bicycle makers from Dayton, this first of many airfields on other worlds will now be known as Wright Brothers Field, in recognition of the ingenuity and innovation that continue to propel exploration.”

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Read more: https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-s-ingenuity-mars-helicopter-succeeds-in-historic-first-flight

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Wow. Just... wow.

[AllaN01Bear]

1. rah. isnt science great or what??

[bucolic_frolic]

2. Not only that

Cows are being fed seaweed to reduce methane burping.

I mean what could go wrong? Will the cow be leaner, with more protein? Will that reduce the potential for incidence of human cancer? Do we have any idea? No. Will it produce superhuman, lean beings with more anger? Who knows. But I suspect when all is said and done it will have been about as good an idea as trans fats.

So we're flying on Mars? Why? Why do we give scientists billions for their toys? Is it helping us? Anyone?

[yowzayowzayowza]

3. Certainly helped me to see a glimmer of hope in our human condition. n/t

[getagrip_already]

4. you are posting this using a device that was enhanced by scientists doing just this

type of research and exploration. The internet itself was developed along the same lines.

kettle, meet pot. Even the vaccines we all want were created using research based on "wasteful" projects.

[edhopper]

14. This

^^^^ The history of science has no impact on the nay sayers.

[Marthe48]

5. To nurture a flicker of hope that we will get off this planet alive

In spite of the fact that repairing the damage humans have done to this planet is easier because it is right here, humans entertain the idea that if things get really bad, we can colonize our neighbor, Mars. NASA can work on it now, because the scientists who work for them don't have to try to convince the rest of humanity to stop polluting, and can just focus entirely on making tools that work on another planet. They can work remotely to create an atmosphere, build shelter, set things in motion so we can start raping its environment, so by the time a few select humans can land and try to live there, it'll be all ready to be violated as Earth has been, and maybe be a going concern.

I am cheering on NASA scientists, whoever conceived and carried out this grand notion of remote flight on another planet, because so many times in the past, things NASA developed benefitted life on this planets. But before we cave in to the seemingly innate desire to colonize, we really need to clean up after ourselves.

[politruk]

8. Even if Mars is terraformed,

it will still be as cold as Antarctica. Not an attractive destination for would-be space-settlers. Orbital habitats have more potential.

[Irish_Dem]

10. Will humans keep trashing one planet after another?

Or will we at some point learn to take care of our habitats?

[peppertree]

13. Plus, you can bet only the elite will be allowed in

Something akin to Elysium.

[Irish_Dem]

15. There is no doubt about this. The elite are paying for their escape pods as we speak.

[peppertree]

16. Egomania on parade

"We're up here - when you're all down there, ha ha ha!"

And then we wonder how creatures like Trump can become president.

[Irish_Dem]

18. They see us as stupid losers. They can trash the planet and leave.

We can't. And of course they will figure out a way to make the taxpayers fund their escape.

[politruk]

7. It's proof-of-concept.

There are other heavenly bodies with atmospheres, and we might want to use a remote-controlled-or-preprogrammed helicopter to explore any of them. This proves that is an option.

[bucolic_frolic]

11. An oprion for what?

Toward what end? Does it feed you? Does it pay bills? Does it claim resources? Exploration was historically for plunder. You have to give Cortez and Columbus that.

[politruk]

19. In space, there are a lot of (potential) economic resources

that humans can exploit without taking them away from anyone else, since, so far as we can tell, there is nobody else.

[hunter]

17. Every human is born a scientist.

Curiosity and experimentation are natural human traits.

But certain cultures can't handle that. They beat it out of their children.

Autonomous flying opens up many new avenues for exploration, here on earth and on other planets.

We can't know what will come of these technologies, good or bad, but we can choose the good, and discard the bad.

I think this is a good one.

I'd rather pay taxes for this than a football stadium or aircraft carrier.

When I first signed onto the internet, in the late 'seventies, it was still a subsidized "toy" of interest to academics and the defense industry.

Look at the internet now...

I'm a radical environmentalist and some kind of bleeding heart liberal socialist who supports steeply progressive taxation.

I like this little helicopter.

[politruk]

6. All right!

Now John Carter can fight the Green Martians in CHOPPERS!

[KS Toronado]

9. Well I'm not impressed at all......

I remember prior to kindergarten at the drive-in watching Bugs Bunny walk around Mars w/o a space suit,
and travel between the planets within a minute. NASA has a lot of catching up to do. IMO

[politruk]

20. Specifically, NASA needs to track down Marvin the Martian

and take away his space modulator -- or else, Earth-shattering KABOOM!

[Shanti Shanti Shanti]

12. It's a start, 120 years from flying a few seconds at Kittyhawk to flying on Mars, 100M miles away

Space is our destiny, as it is written, yea verily

[politruk]

21. Considering how thin is the air on Mars --

only 0.00628 atmospheres -- I think a helicopter that can fly there at all is an impressive engineering achievement.

[Tommymac]

22. I hear there is a small piece of the Wright Bros. 1st plane on board.

Wright Brothers Field. Nice name.

Wonder which hotel chain is going to get the first franchise there? (Not kidding.)