Space travel – Helicopter “ingenuity” first flight over Mars postponed – Knowledge

WASHINGTON (AP) – US space agency NASA has postponed its first helicopter flight to another planet due to technical issues.

NASA has tweeted that the small helicopter “Intelligence” that landed on the rover “Perseverance” on Mars in February will now take off quickly on April 14th. Previously, April 11 was given as the opening date. The helicopter is set to open the age of the plane on the red planet.

The high-speed test of the rotors was canceled on Friday due to problems with adding the aircraft system to the aircraft mode, NASA said. The helicopter is secure and transmits sound and data. The helicopter team is testing the readings to diagnose and understand the problem. The high-speed test is then repeated. The 1.8 kilogram “ingenuity” (in German: ingenuity) rises to an altitude of about three meters in its first test flight, orbits for thirty seconds, and then lands again on the surface of Mars. This will be the first flight of an aircraft on another planet. Within a month, the lithium-ion battery-powered “ingenuity” could launch several more flight attempts.

The helicopter must withstand extreme conditions: Mars will be cold at night up to minus 90 degrees Celsius, the planet’s gravitational force will be low and the atmosphere will be very thin. The mini-helicopter was placed in the belly of “perseverance” at the end of February – after 203 days of flight and 472 million kilometers of perfection – with a dangerous maneuver known as the “Jesero crater” on dry Mars Lake. “Perseverance” means exploring this lake, which is about 45 kilometers in diameter, over the next two years.

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210411-99-157078 / 2