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Post by jandl100 on Apr 7, 2021 9:38:12 GMT
No function except to show that a helicopter can fly on Mars, Brian. It's a technology demonstrator. That's it, there isn't any more.
The main challenges are that the atmosphere is 1% as dense as on Earth and the gravity is 1/3rd Earth's.
If it works out decently I'll bet there will be a proper scout drone fitted out with various sensors on the next NASA Mars mission.
It was always a bit of an afterthought.... Hey, let's see if we can do this.
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Post by brian2957 on Apr 7, 2021 11:07:21 GMT
Just seems like a bit of a missed opportunity. Surely a small camera can't be that expensive or heavy. Images from a small flying machine would have been amazing. What do I know, I'm sure they would have fitted a camera if it was possible  |
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Post by jandl100 on Apr 7, 2021 11:49:18 GMT
Yes, I do agree. Maybe I'm wrong and they do have a camera on board but I don't think so.
If the intention all along had been to have a helicopter as part of the overall mission I suspect a camera would have been included, but it was much more of an afterthought. I suspect they wanted to keep it as simple as possible.
We should still get photos of the helicopter flight taken from the rover.
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Post by brian2957 on Apr 7, 2021 12:14:22 GMT
Should be interesting.
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Post by MartinT on Apr 8, 2021 5:30:57 GMT
Not just a camera. The transmitting electronics, antenna and larger battery would have to be included.
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Post by jandl100 on Apr 8, 2021 6:37:32 GMT
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Post by brian2957 on Apr 8, 2021 11:00:07 GMT
Fantastic image...all the way from Mars.
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Post by julesd68 on Apr 8, 2021 11:18:51 GMT
Cheapskates. All they had to do was put a GoPro on the chopper.
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Post by jandl100 on Apr 10, 2021 0:38:42 GMT
 NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter does a slow spin test of its blades, on April 8, 2021, the 48th Martian day, or sol, of the mission If all proceeds as planned, the 4-pound (1.8-kg) rotorcraft is expected to take off from Mars’ Jezero Crater Sunday, April 11, at 12:30 p.m. local Mars solar time (10:54 p.m. EDT, 7:54 p.m. PDT), hovering 10 feet (3 meters) above the surface for up to 30 seconds. Mission control specialists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California expect to receive the first data from the first flight attempt the following morning www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-mars-helicopter-to-make-first-flight-attempt-sunday?utm_source=iContact&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nasajpl&utm_content=daily20210409-1 |
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Post by brian2957 on Apr 10, 2021 9:05:30 GMT
Every time I see these units perform another function I ask myself... how can they control these things from so far away ? Science fiction indeed  |
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Post by mikeyb on Apr 10, 2021 10:13:20 GMT
Every time I see these units perform another function I ask myself... how can they control these things from so far away ? Science fiction indeed It’s easy, they’re just in the studio next door 😉😂 |
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Post by brian2957 on Apr 10, 2021 11:38:03 GMT
Hahaha...I'm more of an optimist Mike  |
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Post by jandl100 on Apr 11, 2021 6:49:45 GMT
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Post by petea on Apr 11, 2021 8:04:25 GMT
So it does have a camera after all it seems.
"When Ingenuity is able to fly on Mars for the first time, the 4-pound helicopter will fly for about 40 seconds total. The helicopter will spin up its two 4-foot blades, rise up 10 feet (3 meters) in the air, hover, make a turn, take a photo, and touch back down on Mars."
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Post by brian2957 on Apr 11, 2021 8:24:35 GMT
Could it be down to 'conditons' on Mars which are not perfect for the flight ? |
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Post by jandl100 on Apr 11, 2021 8:56:52 GMT
So it does have a camera after all it seems. Yes, quite right. I missed that. According to the Fact Sheet linked to the NASA page below it has 2 cameras, one colour, one black and white. mars.nasa.gov/technology/helicopter/#Overview |
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Post by MartinT on Apr 11, 2021 9:01:38 GMT
I would imagine they are being extra cautious. They don't want their one and only helicopter crashing or tipping over. It could be the wind conditions they're looking at.
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Post by jandl100 on Apr 11, 2021 9:18:11 GMT
According to the CNN article it was an automatic shutdown by one of the onboard safety systems. They don't know what triggered it yet.
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Post by brian2957 on Apr 11, 2021 9:31:25 GMT
Ah...let's hope it's something they can fix.
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Post by jandl100 on Apr 11, 2021 11:27:54 GMT
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