![]() ![]() It was meant to be a “scout” unit for the Mars rover that can help identify safe driving routes. The initial phases of the design of the Ingenuity started in 2014. This also meant that the Ingenuity had to be one of a kind. This heavily implies that there is currently no helicopter on the planet that can handle the lack of atmosphere on Mars. Even record-breaking attempts for aircraft on the Earth topped out at only about 85,000 feet. This is well into the Earth’s stratosphere and more than ten times the allowed altitude for commercial aircraft. The force of this lift is directly proportional to both the speed of rotation of the propellers and the density of the atmosphere.Īnother way of framing this challenge is that the atmosphere in Mars is equivalent to the atmosphere on Earth at an altitude of about 22 miles. Similarly, shifting the angle of the drone or helicopter gives it the propulsion to move in any direction. ![]() Why is air density such a crucial factor in flight? In rotor-powered flight, the propellers essentially cut through the air and redirect it downwards. A more useful metric of this is the density of air on Mars, which only about 1% of the density of air on the Earth. What makes drone flight on Mars so difficult and why is the Ingenuity helicopter special? Is there any drone on Earth that can compare to its design? The challenges of flight in Mars atmosphereįlight on Mars is difficult because of just one thing – the atmosphere in Mars is a lot thinner compared to that of the Earth. The Ingenuity isn’t just an ordinary drone – it was designed specifically for this mission. What is not very apparent is how vast the challenges that had to be overcome before this feat could be achieved. With this development, NASA has paved the way for faster exploration on Mars and other planets. The big news today is that NASA has achieved the first powered flight from the surface on Mars with the Ingenuity helicopter. ![]()
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