The Mars rover Perseverance, and the Mars helicopter Ingenuity took off together on top of an Atlas V rocket a few days ago on 30th July. See video here .
This would have been major news in a pre-Covid world. Both Perseverance and Ingenuity incorporate major technology innovations. In particular, the helicopter Ingenuity would demonstrate the first powered flight on another planet, a feat equal to the first flight of the Wright brothers' Kitty Hawk. The helicopter had to be especially light weight (1.8kg) to lift off in the thin atmosphere on Mars, 99 percent less dense than that of earth, apart from the rigours of reaching, landing and deploying safely on Mars. For this it has a double pair of light weight carbon rotors which spin in opposite directions at 2400 rpm, and is powered by solar batteries. While the helicopter is a technology demonstration, it will add another, aerial dimension (5 flights over 30 days) to the exploration of Mars.
Its flying companion Perseverance is no less. A worthy successor to the rovers Opportunity, which was operational for 14 years, and Curiosity, which is still fit and fine, Perseverance aims to look for preserved microbial life forms and characterize Martian climate and geology.
Meanwhile we survive life on earth, hell and high water, battle and strife, pestilence and disease. We hope to scrape through, armed with the same two virtues, Perseverance and Ingenuity.
This blog post by Neelima Gupte and Sumathi Rao.
See an earlier post
on the Marscopter for engineering details.
No comments:
Post a Comment