Ingenuity achieves second and riskiest flight on Mars 1:17
(CNN) -
Now we know: this is the view when flying on Mars.
The Ingenuity captured its first color image on April 22.
The Ingenuity helicopter captured its first color image 5.2 meters above the Martian surface during a second flight on April 22.
It is now preparing for a third flight that is scheduled for Sunday.
Ingenuity flew autonomously for nearly 52 seconds during a second flight, rising about 4.9 meters in the Martian atmosphere.
After a brief hover, the helicopter tilted at a 5-degree angle and moved sideways for 2.1 meters.
The helicopter lifted back into place for several turns.
This allowed Ingenuity's color camera to capture images in different directions before landing again in the center of the airfield.
During its maiden flight on April 19, Ingenuity only collected black and white images using its navigation camera.
Ingenuity's flight on Mars from a new angle 0:35
The color image shared Friday by NASA is the first taken by an airborne vehicle while on Mars.
On either side of the image you can see the landing pads of two of the four legs of the helicopter.
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The helicopter's shadow on the surface of Mars can be seen at the bottom of the image.
The view from the helicopter's perspective reveals the footprints made by the Perseverance rover when it initially deposited the helicopter in the middle of its 10-meter by 10-meter airfield, now known as Wright Brothers Field.
Argentine engineer Miguel San Martín explains Ingenuity's "adventure" on Mars
You can also glimpse the Martian horizon in the upper right and left corner of the photo.
The helicopter team believes that this image helps demonstrate the unique exploration capabilities of Ingenuity and other helicopters that could be molded in the future.
Historic images of the Ingenuity flight on Mars 1:07
Sunday's flight
The Ingenuity is not wasting time.
The approximately 1.8 kilogram helicopter is scheduled to fly again this Sunday morning.
The data and images will begin streaming in the control room of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, at 10:16 a.m. Miami time.
Each flight is a bit more challenging than the last.
For Sunday's flight, the helicopter will ascend to the same altitude, about 5 meters above the Martian surface, but this time it will increase its speed.
In previous flights, the Ingenuity was moving at approximately 0.5 meters per second.
Now the helicopter will increase that speed and will move at 2 meters per second.
The helicopter will also fly 50 meters to the north before returning to land in place.
The mission team is planning a total flight time of 80 seconds, the longest so far, and a range of approximately 100 meters.
"While that number may not sound like a lot, keep in mind that we never moved laterally the distance equivalent to more than two pencils when we did the flight test in the vacuum chamber here on Earth," wrote Håvard Grip, pilot. Head of the Ingenuity Mars helicopter at JPL, in an update.
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This is how the Ingenuity helicopter looks on Mars from the rear camera of the Perseverance rover on April 4, 2021. Ingenuity will be the first aircraft to attempt power-controlled flight on another planet, a milestone that has been remembered for the feat the Wright brothers ago. more than 10 years.
(Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech) →
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This is a closer shot of Ingenuity on the surface of Mars.
The helicopter could fly for up to 90 seconds at distances of approximately 300 meters at a time.
It may seem like a short time, but the Wright brothers' flight lasted 12 seconds.
(Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / ASU)
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The Perseverance rover took a "selfie" on Mars with the Ingenuity helicopter, which is about 3.9 meters away (right in the center of the photo).
Ingenuity weighs less than 1.8 kilograms, but was built strong enough to survive the harsh Martian environment.
(Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSSS)
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Here you can see the Ingenuity helicopter with its four legs spread out on the surface of Mars, before detaching from the Perseverance rover.
Ingenuity will fly on its own, without human control.
You must take off, fly and land with minimal orders from Earth sent in advance.
(Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSSS)
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This is the first color image taken by the Ingenuity helicopter of Mars.
Despite its low resolution, the floor of the Jezero crater on Mars and a two-wheeled portion of the Perseverance rover can be seen.
Ingenuity is expected to achieve higher resolution photos during its test flights.
(Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech)
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The Ingenuity helicopter extends vertically after being turned outward from its horizontal position on the Perseverance rover.
The aircraft has already managed to recharge autonomously with its solar panel.
Also stay in an optimal temperature during the cold night of the red planet that can reach -90 degrees Celsius.
(Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSSS)
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This is an illustration of how the Ingenuity helicopter would fly on Mars, while Perseverance follows its movements.
The aircraft has already confirmed communications with the rover and with the flight operators on Earth.
(Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech)
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This graph shows the activities that the team behind the Ingenuity helicopter hope to accomplish during a flight over Mars.
The spacecraft will have 31 Earth days for its test flight program.
The gray arrow represents the rover's path and the yellow pyramids the areas that Ingenuity will photograph.
To the far left is the takeoff and landing area, while to the right is a potential new landing site.
(Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech)
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In this illustration, the Ingenuity helicopter is hovering over the surface of Mars, while the Perseverance rover (partially visible on the left) moves away.
If the helicopter is successful, it could allow aerial exploration of the red planet to expand, as its technology would help other vehicles.
(Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech)
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This illustration shows how the Ingenuity helicopter would fly through the skies of Mars.
(Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech)
“And while four meters of lateral movement on Flight Two (two meters out and then two back) was great, and provided a lot of fabulous data, it was only four meters.
As such, Flight Three is a great step, one in which Ingenuity will begin to experience freedom in the sky. "
Ingenuity still has one more week to make two more flights before the end of the 31-day mission.
"Although we are conducting our flight tests in a thin atmosphere more than 290 million kilometers from Earth, we modeled our methodical approach to experimental flight on the Wright brothers' approach," Grip wrote.
"Our plan from day one has been to prepare like crazy, fly, analyze the data (like crazy) and then plan an even bolder test for the next flight."
Check back here Sunday for updates on the historic third flight of the Mars Ingenuity helicopter.
Science and SpaceMarsMars