Tag: Mars
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Mars Express and the case of the large, mysterious Martian volcano cloud
Throughout the southern Martian hemisphere’s spring and summer seasons, a large, expansive cloud emerges daily from the volcano Arsia Mons. Why this cloud only forms at this location on Mars, what kind of cloud it is, and other puzzles to this phenomenon have plagued researchers for years — as observing Martian weather usually only happens…
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NASA celebrates first historic helicopter flight on Mars
A navigation camera on NASA’s Perseverance rover captured this view of the Ingenuity helicopter’s historic flight Monday. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech An automated mini-helicopter driven by two fast-spinning, counter-rotating rotors took off from the surface of Mars, hovered for 30 seconds, then successfully landed Monday to complete the historic first powered flight of an aircraft on another…
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After successful first flight, NASA wants to push Mars helicopter to its limits
The work isn’t over for NASA’s Ingenuity Mars helicopter. Engineers hope to fly the rotorcraft four more times in the next two weeks before calling it quits on the pioneering technology experiment, which accomplished the first powered flight of an aircraft on another planet Monday. As officials celebrated the helicopter’s historic flight, teams were…
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NASA Ingenuity completes autonomous flight on Mars
For the first time ever, non-rocket powered flight has been achieved on a body other than Earth. NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter, part of the Mars 2020 mission, completed its first flight on Monday 19 April. The vehicle lifted off at 12:34 AM PDT (07:34 UTC) and flew for 39.1 seconds. Flight controllers at the Jet Propulsion…
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Live coverage: NASA confirms successful first flight of Mars helicopter
Live coverage of the the Ingenuity helicopter’s flight test campaign on Mars. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter.
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NASA schedules first Mars helicopter test flight for Monday
After some long-distance troubleshooting, NASA’s Ingenuity Mars helicopter will attempt the first flight of its kind on another world Monday in a demonstration that could open the door to a new era of interplanetary aerial scouts. Engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California uplinked commands for Ingenuity’s test flight Sunday, setting the stage for…
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Going, going … goniometer! First Mode delivers measuring gizmo for Mars mission
First Mode President Chris Voorhees and engineers Brian Geddes and Sophia Kim check out the newly completed goniometer before shipping it to Western Washington University. (GeekWire Photo / Alan Boyle) The 3-foot-wide contraption that was built in First Mode’s Seattle workshop looks like something from a science-fiction movie, complete with spinning cogwheels and a flashing…
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Mars helicopter needs a software update before attempting first flight
NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter unlocked its rotor blades, allowing them to spin freely, on April 7. They had been held in place since before launch, and the unlocking is one of several milestones that must be met before the helicopter can attempt the first powered, controlled flight on another planet. This image was captured by the…
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NASA’s Mars helicopter ready for pre-flight checkouts
The Ingenuity helicopter on the surface of Mars. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Mission controllers plan to unlock the blades on NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter and spin them up to more than 2,000 rpm for a test later this week, a bit of “calisthenics” before the rotorcraft’s first flight in the atmosphere of Mars as soon as this weekend,…
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Perseverance rover’s zoomable camera checks out on Red Planet
The Perseverance rover’s Mastcam-Z instrument took this picture of the Martian horizon Tuesday, March 30. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS Scientists have confirmed the first zoomable camera on Mars is in top-top shape since arriving aboard NASA’s Perseverance rover in February, adding a long-distance survey capability to the robot’s scientific toolkit. The zoomable imaging instrument, which is actually…