Ingenuity enters the Hall of fame of space exploration: it is the first human artifact
to hover in the atmosphere of another planet!
"...Repairs made, a day of weather good enough to launch the Flyer did not occur until December
13 but, since it was a Sunday, no attempt to fly was undertaken.
On December 14, Wilbur and Orville finally tossed a coin to determine who would attempt
the first takeoff; Wilbur won, but his first attempt ended with a crash to the ground just
3.5 seconds after takeoff.
Nevertheless, convinced by the proven efficiency of the engine and the way the controls responded,
he said he had no more doubts about the final success.
Three days later, on December 17, 1903, after repairing the damage and taking advantage
of a sunny, cold and windy day, the Wrights were ready for another attempt: in front of
only five witnesses and always on the beach of Kitty Hawk, in North Carolina, USA.
This time, it was Orville's turn to take the controls: the aircraft rolled along the rail
that prevented the skids from sinking into the sand, took off, stayed in the air for
12 seconds and, after traveling 36 meters at an average height of three meters above
the ground, returned to the ground in a relatively soft landing.
It was 10:35 a.m.
For the first time in history, a motor vehicle with a pilot on board had lifted off the ground
in a "controlled and prolonged" flight.
How do you say?
Did we get the wrong argument?
Did we have to talk about Mars here?
Well, let's tell it like it is: Initially scheduled for April 8, Ingenuity's first flight
was postponed to a new date due to control problems on the counter-rotating blade motors.
The problem was solved with a remote software update, but the conditions for a first flight
attempt were not present until April 18th; but since that day was a Sunday, it was decided
to postpone the flight until the next day.
And so, on the morning of April 19, 2021, taking advantage of a very cold sunny day
inside the Jezero Crater, on Mars and in front of the Perseverance rover as the only witness,
the onboard software activated the rotors of the small helicopter.
The wobbly craft rose vertically to a height of three meters, and there it hovered for
nearly 40 seconds before descending back to earth.
It was 12:33 local time.
For the first time in history, a motor vehicle had lifted off from a planet other than Earth,
performing a "controlled and sustained" flight.
Is this better?
We think so...
And it's not for nothing that NASA has decided to name the site of Ingenuity's historic liftoff
"Wright Brothers Field".
So that it may be clear to everyone the link that, through time (117 years) and space (the
beaches of Kitty Hawk on Earth and the sands of Jezero Crater on Mars, separated by hundreds
of millions of kilometers), was formed between the events of the Wright Brothers Flyer and
the small NASA helicopter.
But in fact we are here to tell how things went: on Mars and on Earth, on the morning
of April 19 last, and therefore it will be better to abandon flights of fancy and return
to the strict canons of the chronicle.
Not that there is much to say.
As it often happens in the great facts of history, things happen quickly and very simply.
The complexity is usually upstream and downstream of the event.
But first, let's take two steps back to remind those who follow us what we are talking about.
OK?
Costing 85 million dollars, Ingenuity is a "technological demonstrator": its main objective,
therefore, is not to acquire scientific data but to demonstrate that it is possible to
fly in a controlled way on another planet.
In the case of Mars, although partly facilitated by low gravity, it had to overcome the challenge
imposed by the ultra-rarefied atmosphere, forcing NASA designers to resort to innovative
solutions, such as two large carbon fiber propellers.
More than a helicopter, Ingenuity resembles a drone.
It is in fact a very small device, weighing only 1.8 kg.
The structure with the electronics and batteries is enclosed in a cube-shaped fuselage of about
14 cm side, mounted on four legs each 38 cm long.
Ingenuity will be able to fly thanks to two pairs of counter-rotating blades of 120 cm
in diameter that will turn 2400 times per minute, or ten times faster than those used
in helicopters on Earth.
Despite the very low weight, in fact, that on Mars will also be reduced to one third
due to the lower force of gravity, the problem for the rotors will be able to take hold in
an atmosphere that has a density that is just one percent of that of Earth.
Getting up in the air on the Red Planet is equivalent to doing it from an altitude of
30 km on Earth.
No existing helicopter has ever gone that high; it is more than twice the altitude at
which jets normally fly.
The helicopter is designed to provide overhead imagery with about ten times the resolution
of orbital imagery.
It carries tiny avionics and communications equipment, a navigation camera, a single solar
panel and rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, as well as heaters to keep the electronics
warm during the frigid Martian nights.
To hinder the proper functioning of the drone there will be in fact also the very cold temperatures
of the Jezero crater, where at night it will drop even to -90 degrees Celsius.
These temperatures could put a strain on components and electronics, although tests on Earth indicate
that everything should work as expected.
The drone will recharge its batteries thanks to an integrated solar panel and the energy
will serve, as well as for short flights, also to keep the vehicle warm during the freezing
Martian nights.
In this regard, it has been mounted a real thermostat able to monitor its state.
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There are no scientific instruments on board; only the camera facing down for navigation,
landing and scientific terrain survey, and a communication system to transmit data to
the Perseverance rover.
Mars' non-existent magnetic field precludes the use of a compass for navigation, so a
tracker tied to the Sun's position is planned.
Additional devices include gyroscopes, tilt sensors, an altimeter, and hazard detectors.
The biggest problem of all, however, is control.
We know how the distance separating us from Mars makes communication difficult and does
not allow real-time controls.
The radio signal will take about 30 minutes to make the round trip in the period in which
the drone will try to get up in the air... a wait that always makes it necessary to act
with extreme slowness and caution in driving the rovers on the surface, let alone a helicopter
in flight ... So it won't be possible to steer the drone
with a simple controller as is usually the case with similar vehicles on Earth.
Ingenuity will move according to the parameters set by its engineers on Earth and will fly
completely autonomously.
During flight, Ingenuity will analyze sensor data and terrain imagery to ensure that it
remains on its intended flight path.
A mission with many unknowns, then.
And years of planning that would have been wasted if the most important test of all,
that of the first flight, had not given a positive result...
As we have already told you in the preamble, some problems had already appeared in the
first days of April during some preliminary tests, then overcome with the update of the
onboard software.
So there was a lot of nervousness at Pasadena Control Center, on the morning of April 19,
even if everything seemed to be going well.
The engineers on Earth were ready to give the go-ahead, while on Mars, Ingenuity reported
that it was ready to receive the GO, controlled on sight by the cameras of Perseverance, 65
meters away.
In Pasadena it was 0:34 a.m. local time when the mission controllers at Jet Propulsion
Laboratory radioed the commands.
On Mars, Jezero Crater, it was past noon by half an hour.
The impulse for the GO arrives on Mars after about 15 minutes...
The helicopter starts its rotors as it was commanded and rises in the Martian sky..
At least, that's what all the engineers at JPL hope is happening, since they won't be
able to know until much later.
Ingenuity rises to a height of 3 meters, and hangs in the air for nearly 40 seconds.
As expected, it also makes a quarter turn and then descends again, to the exact spot
from where it took off.
Mission accomplished!
At that moment, Ingenuity made history as the first powered aircraft capable of lifting
off from a planet other than Earth using the lift of its atmosphere.
But at that moment, no one on Earth - including people at NASA - knew what was actually happening.
The two spacecraft were not in communication with Earth during the test, and Ingenuity
had to perform all of its actions autonomously.
It was only three hours later that one of NASA's other Mars spacecraft, the Mars Reconnaissance
Orbiter, passed overhead, and Perseverance could relay the test data back to Earth, up
to the JPL control room.
Minutes later, engineers analyzed the results that showed a successful flight.
Spin up.
Takeoff.
Climb.
Hover.
Rotation.
Descent.
Landing.
And spin down...
As the incoming telemetry confirmed the success of each of the planned phases of the flight,
it became more and more evident that NASA had succeeded in writing a new page in the
history of space exploration and aeronautics.
Thus, the official announcement arrived.
Havard Grip, the engineer who serves as NASA's chief pilot for Ingenuity, announced as the
data arrived that the helicopter had completed "the first powered flight of a powered aircraft
on another planet."
A riot of applause rose from the control center of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory - an enthusiasm
that reminded us of other times and other missions - Scientists and technicians cheered
and then confirmed with emotion that the tiny helicopter had taken off and landed according
to plan.
The first images appear on the giant screen.
The first is in black and white, taken from the navigation camera positioned under the
belly of the helicopter and facing the ground.
It might look like a picture of a large mosquito seen against the light... but no, it is Ingenuity's
shadow projected onto the ground below!
The small helicopter had then picked up its shadow, just as the Japanese Hayabusa probes
had done in the past when flying around the Itokawa and Ryuga asteroids.
Then, after a wait motivated by the need to put the images in sequence, the color film
taken by Perseverance finally appeared on the screen.
Obviously short, but really exciting!
What will happen now, how will Ingenuity's mission proceed?
As you know, the duration of the project is limited to 30 Martian days, after which it
will continue with the main mission, that of the Perseverance rover (which currently
must be in the vicinity of Ingenuity).
Obviously, we will try very soon to fly the helicopter longer and if possible a little
bit higher.
Four further flights, each lasting up to 90 seconds, are planned in the next two weeks.
The next one is tentatively scheduled for 22 April.
In it, Ingenuity will aim to rise 5 meters above the surface, fly laterally for about
2 meters, then fly 2 meters back and land at the same place it took off.
Eventually, the helicopter may fly faster and farther, traveling up to 300 meters from
its take-off point.
All flights will be this time documented in high resolution by the 13 megapixel color
camera mounted on board Ingenuity!
See you in the next days, then!