Helicopter Ingenuity successfully survives cold night on Mars and prepares for first flight
The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) reports that the Ingenuity Martian helicopter successfully survived an independent overnight stay in low temperatures on the Red Planet.
At the end of last week, we recall, the aircraft “Ingenuity” was launched from the rover “Perseverance” to the surface of Mars. After that, the rover rode away from the unloading place, and the helicopter began a completely autonomous existence.
The aircraft is located in the Jezero crater area, where nighttime temperatures drop to minus 90 degrees Celsius. This can damage several helicopter systems, including electrical circuits and batteries. Therefore, the developers have provided special heaters.
“ This is the first time Ingenuity is offline on the surface of Mars. And now we have confirmation that the design uses the right insulation materials and the required heaters, and the batteries have enough energy to survive the cold night, which is a big win for the team, ”notes NASA.
Shortly, the helicopter’s comprehensive checks will be carried out before preparing for the first flight, which is planned to be carried out no earlier than April 11.
We add that Ingenuity weighing about 1.8 kg is not equipped with scientific instruments. The task of the apparatus is to demonstrate the technical feasibility of flights in the atmosphere of Mars.
