NASA's Mars Helicopter Will Do a 'Wiggle' Test After Fatal Malfunction gizmodo.com.au - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from gizmodo.com.au Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The Marscopter will not fly again, and a marsupial that lives fast and dies young. The Marscopter will not fly again, and a marsupial that lives fast and dies young.
The first aircraft to fly on another world, Ingenuity broke during a final, fatal flight. The first aircraft to fly on another world, Ingenuity broke during a final, fatal flight.
Flying on Mars presents a major challenge. The Martian surface air density is only about one percent of Earth's, making it difficult for craft to produce the lift necessary to fly. Yet NASA's experimental Ingenuity helicopter was designed to create lift with its rotors under such unique conditions. Using a four-foot wingspan, the robot has now flown over 50 times though the space agency only expected it to last for five flights. NASA's car-sized Perseverance rover recently captured footage of the helicopter's entire 54th flight in early August. After Ingenuity experienced a flight anomaly, causing it to promptly land, NASA ran this aerial test to make sure the navigation system still worked properly which it does. SEE ALSO: NASA's rover photo shows water once absolutely gushed on Mars On the far bottom of the video, at about 5 seconds in, Ingenuity fires up its rotors. At 15 seconds in, the robot takes off. It hovers 16 feet in the Martian air before touching down. All 46