The other day I was on an online panel discussion about all things space and astronomy. A question came up: what’s the name of the helicopter that’s going to Mars at the end of the month? I had to stop and think about it because, to be honest, I really hadn’t heard a name announced. Then, someone else shouted it out: the Ingenuity chopper!
The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission to Mars will launch on July 30th, 2020. It will arrive at the Red Planet in mid-February, 2021. The spacecraft is carrying 23 cameras aboard to capture a wide array of images at Jezero Crater. (That’s where it will land). It also has microphones, and seven science instruments. And, then, there’s that mini helicopter.
About Ingenuity Helicopter
The name “Ingenuity” was originally suggested as a mission name. However, the more the science teams thought about it, the more they thought it to be very appropriate for the mini-chopper. And it really is “mini”. Ingenuity only weighs 1.8 kg (about 4 pounds). It has specially designed rotors and blades to operate in the thin Martian atmosphere. Nobody’s tried this before. So, this little chopper will be the first aircraft to experience the rigors of controlled flight on another planet.
Why do a chopper on Mars? When we begin human exploration of Mars, having aircraft will be a big help. So, Ingenuity is a technology demonstrator for such aircraft. Once it separates from its perch inside the landing module, Ingenuity will face challenges. First, it will deal with a very thin, cold atmosphere. It’s specially built to handle the conditions on Mars, and will operate on batteries powered by solar cells as it makes its test flights. Then, it has to get around on its own.
Controllers at JPL will send commands to Ingenuity in advance, but will not be able to guide the little chopper in “real time”. The distance between Earth and Mars is too great for that and would introduce time lags in communication. So, Ingenuity will have a lot of autonomy to decide about where it flies and keeping itself warm.
Challenges for the Ingenuity Chopper
You might be tempted to think that sending a little chopper to Mars is no big deal. But, in terms of engineering, it’s a pretty challenging project. The engineering team at JPL had to build it to be lightweight. It has to be able to generate enough lift in Mars’ thin atmosphere to get off the ground and fly for short distances. And, Ingenuity has to survive the conditions on mars. Now, it has to survive the launch from Cape Canaveral. After that, the whole spacecraft package has to get to Mars safely. Once there, Perseverance and its precious cargo have to make a safe landing. All of these are challenging, no matter how many times scientists have done it before.
Once on Mars, it’ll be showtime for the whole mission, including Ingenuity. For a month or so after landing, Ingenuity will make test flights, sending back data to JPL about its performance and well-being. If everything goes well, more flying vehicles can be built into Mars explorations of the future. I can see a swarm of little choppers and other craft exploring the planet someday. They will be sending back great information about places that our rovers and orbiters could never go or see clearly. Maybe after that, people will fly in specially made aircraft to do their explorations. Their aircraft will be based on what Ingenuity and its successors teach us about flight in the Martian atmosphere.
Mars Exploration in the 2020s
By the way, this is a great time for Mars exploration. The launch of Perseverance isn’t the only one headed to the Red Planet. The United Arab Emirates just sent its Al-Amal (which means “Hope”) mission to Mars today. It’s the Arab world’s first mission to another planet. It should arrive at Mars in February 2021, too. In addition, the Chinese space agency’s Tianwen-1 mission is slated for lift-off on July 23rd. I can’t wait to see what they all show us about our neighbors in space. More on those missions as they unfold.