Flying a Helicopter on Mars is Getting "Harder and Harder," NASA Says
martyb writes:
Flying a helicopter on Mars is getting 'harder and harder,' NASA says:
Havard Grip, Ingenuity's chief pilot, talked about the challenges facing the chopper in a NASA status update this week. The density of the atmosphere in the Jezero Crater is dropping, a factor Grip said has "a significant impact on Ingenuity's ability to fly."
[...] This doesn't mean Ingenuity will be grounded. "Thankfully, there is a way to tackle this issue, but it involves spinning the rotors even faster than we have been doing up to now," Grip said. "In fact, they will have to spin faster than we have ever attempted with Ingenuity or any of our test helicopters on Earth."
The plucky little rotorcraft is headed into uncharted territory as its team plans to test this speed-demon version of its rotors. NASA JPL said Ingenuity did a rotor spin test and could take off on its 14th flight as early as today. The flight will be short and will aim to show the chopper can handle lower atmospheric densities.
[...] The planned tests will be quite a workout for the chopper. "The motors will need to spin faster, the electrical system will need to deliver more power, and the entire rotor system will need to withstand the higher loads that come with increased rotor speeds," Grip said.
Ingenuity has a knack for overcoming challenges. It's made it through technical glitches and software updates and taken on increasingly more difficult flights. Here's hoping it soars right past this latest obstacle.
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