Mars chopper the Wright stuff
FOR several decades, the exploration of space has resulted in many firsts.
This week, we saw one of the most amazing achievements: the first powered, controlled flight on another world.
It was one of the most spectacular “proof of concept” tests imaginable, and it happened 287 million kilometres away.
The brief (39-second) flight was made on Mars by NASA’s little Ingenuity helicopter. It was taken to the Red Planet as part of the Mars 2020 mission, whose main craft was the Perseverance rover. The rover itself has been performing very well, but a few days ago the eyes of the world, and especially of people at NASA, were on the little drone-like device as it climbed 3m into the Martian atmosphere.
After being readied for weeks following the successful landing of Perseverance and its companion on to the Martian surface, the flight took place on Monday afternoon (April 19) at 5.34pm Tasmanian time.
However, we did not know of its success until just over three hours later, because all of the data had to be received and analysed to show that the flight actually took place.
The clearest and most exciting evidence for Ingenuity’s success was a video of the flight, made and transmitted by Perseverance, “watching” from 64m away. It came not long after the flight confirmation had been received.
Internet users around the world watched together with NASA scientists, who were cheering as they saw the video.
We watched as Ingenuity’s two rotor blades started spinning, following which it rose quite quickly to a point 3m above the Martian surface, hovered for 30 seconds, then descended, landing safely.
Not only do we have a video to enjoy; we also have a picture snapped from Ingenuity itself, looking down on to its shadow cast on to the surface.
This great success paves the way for more test flights, and more sophisticated helicopters on future missions.
A major advantage of such a device is that it can travel well ahead of the rover and examine locations of interest, so that the rover can be steered in the best directions.
The significance of Monday’s flight should not be underestimated. From the first powered flight on Earth by the Wright brothers in 1903, we have now graduated to doing it on a world other than our own.
Although it went only up and down, Ingenuity’s first flight was of a longer duration than the first powered flight on Earth. With Orville as the pilot, the brothers’ aeroplane, called the Wright Flyer, made a 12-second flight on December 17, covering only 37m across the ground and flying at an altitude of just under 3m. It was the first of four flights made that day, each one with a longer range.
It is fitting that Ingenuity’s airfield on Mars has been named Wright Brothers Field!
A few years ago, I visited Kill Devil Hills, just south of Kitty Hawk in North Carolina, the site of those 1903 flights, and wondered whether thoughts of flying on another planet were ever contemplated by the famous pair.
Probably not, at least at that time, because they were completely occupied with getting their aeroplane, and themselves, off the ground!
There will be more flights for Ingenuity, and more helicopters sent to Mars, but Mars will not be the limit.
Flights in the atmosphere of Titan, Saturn’s largest satellite, are highly desirable, because it is one of the solar system objects that is most fascinating for us. Titan has many organic compounds, and is the only satellite with a substantial atmosphere.
We can now see Mars each evening low in our northwestern evening sky from Tasmania. Firstly, locate the bright red-orange star Betelgeuse, below and to the right of the three stars in a row that mark Orion’s Belt.
Mars is about a hand span (held at arm’s length) below and to the right of Betelgeuse. A good time to be watching is about 6.30pm, before Mars gets too low in the sky.