NASA의 혁신적인 화성 헬리콥터가 마침내 집으로 돌아옵니다.

NASA의 Mars Ingenuity Helicopter는 4월 26일 착륙을 위해 하강하는 헬리콥터와의 통신 문제로 인한 통신 문제에도 불구하고 52번째 성공적인 비행을 완료했습니다. (화성에 있는 NASA의 크리에이티브 헬리콥터 그림) 출처: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Mars Helicopter successfully completed its 52nd flight, despite communication dropouts due to challenging Martian terrain. Contact with the helicopter was re-established on June 28, following a temporary blackout due to a hill blocking the signal between it and the Perseverance rover. Flight 53, scheduled for the coming weeks, will further explore Mars’s westward terrain.

The intrepid rotorcraft may head skyward again within the next couple of weeks.

The 52nd flight of NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter is now in the official mission logbook as a success. The flight took place back on April 26, but mission controllers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California lost contact with the helicopter as it descended toward the surface for landing.

The Ingenuity team expected the communications dropout because a hill stood between the helicopter’s landing location and the Perseverance rover’s position, blocking communication between the two. The rover acts as a radio relay between the helicopter and mission controllers at JPL. In anticipation of this loss of communications, the Ingenuity team had already developed re-contact plans for when the rover would drive back within range. Contact was re-established June 28 when Perseverance crested the hill and could see Ingenuity again.

NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter was captured by the Perseverance rover’s Mastcam-Z on April 16, not long after the rotorcraft’s 50th flight. The helicopter would soon fall silent for 63 days due hilly terrain that interrupted communications between the rover and aircraft. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS

The goal of Flight 52, a 1,191-foot (363-meter) and 139-second-long flight, was to reposition the helicopter and take images of the Martian surface for the rover’s science team.

“The portion of Jezero Crater the rover and helicopter are currently exploring has a lot of rugged terrain, which makes communications dropouts more likely,” said JPL’s Josh Anderson, the Ingenuity team lead. “The team’s goal is to keep Ingenuity ahead of Perseverance, which occasionally involves temporarily pushing beyond communication limits. We’re excited to be back in communications range with Ingenuity and receive confirmation of Flight 52.”

NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter is seen in shadow in an image captured by its navigation camera during the rotorcraft’s 52nd flight on April 26. This image was finally received after Perseverance and Ingenuity were out of communication for 63 days. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Sixty-three days is a long time to wait for the results of a flight, but the data coming in indicates all is well with the first aircraft on another world. If the remainder of Ingenuity’s health checks are equally rosy, the helicopter may fly again within the next couple of weeks.

The target for Flight 53 is an interim airfield to the west, from which the team plans to perform another westward flight to a new base of operations near a rocky outcrop the Perseverance team is interested in exploring.

창의성에 대해 자세히 알아보기

혁신적인 화성 헬리콥터는 NASA 본사를 대신하여 프로젝트 관리 책임도 처리하는 JPL(Jet Propulsion Laboratory)의 창설입니다. 이 프로젝트에 대한 지원은 NASA의 Science Mission Directorate에서 제공합니다. 혁신 개발 단계에서 두 개의 주요 기여자는 캘리포니아 실리콘 밸리에 위치한 NASA의 Ames 연구 센터와 버지니아 햄튼에 위치한 NASA의 Langley 연구 센터였습니다. 이들 기관은 필수 비행 성능 분석 및 기술 지침을 제공했습니다. AeroVironment Inc.를 비롯한 업계 파트너 Qualcomm 및 SolAero는 설계 프로세스에 기여하고 주요 차량 부품을 공급합니다. Lockheed Space는 Mars Helicopter Delivery System을 설계하고 제조하는 임무를 맡았습니다.

NASA 본사에서 Ingenuity Mars Helicopter 프로젝트를 지휘하는 책임자는 Program Executive Dave Lavery입니다.