Determination. An innovative NASA helicopter touches Earth on Mars

Versatility, el A small NASA helicopter Which arrived in February to Mars Attached to the bottom of Perseverance in the roverIt just detached from the car and it’s already on a roof Red planetThe US Space Agency announced.

“Confirmed Mars helicopter landing!” On Twitter Saturday night, the NASA lab responsible for the mission.

This lightweight helicopter is similar to a Large drone, Folded up and docked under persistence, which landed on Mars on February 18th, where it stayed until the rover arrived at the place where the journey should take place.

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“Its 293 million miles (471 million kilometers) flight ended with this tiny jump of 10 cm from the belly of the probe to the surface of Mars today. Next challenge: Surviving the night,” the laboratory wrote on Twitter.

# helicopter Landing confirmation! It has a journey of 293 million miles (471 million km) on board Embed a Tweet It ended with the recent descent of 4 inches (10 cm) from the belly of the probe to the surface of Mars today. The next teacher? Survive the night. https://t.co/TNCdXWcKWE pic.twitter.com/XaBiSNebua

– NASA JPL (@ NASAJPL) April 4, 2021

A picture accompanying the tweet showed she was stalking away from the helicopter. The horizon should be crystal clear in under 25 hoursBecause the helicopter needs the sun Turn on your solar panels With energy and the ability to survive by heating during the icy Martian nights.

Up until this point, creativity had depended on the power of the rover, but from now on it had to stand on its own.

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“There is a small cooler that allows you to keep indoors at about 45 degrees Fahrenheit (7 degrees Celsius) in the bitter cold of Mars night, where temperatures can drop as low as -130 degrees Fahrenheit (-90 degrees Celsius),” explained Bob Palaram, chief engineer. In the Mars Helicopter Project.

He added that “this allows the protection of the main components” of the device.

Over the next two days, the ground team will verify that the solar panels are working as intended, and then begin testing the motors and sensors before the first flight, which shouldn’t happen. Before April 11.

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