NASA’s Ingenuity mini-helicopter has been dropped on the floor of Mars in preparation for its first flight, the US area company stated.
The ultra-light plane had been fastened to the stomach of the Perseverance rover, which touched down on the Purple Planet on February 18.
“#MarsHelicopter landing confirmed!” NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory tweeted Saturday.
“Its 293 million mile (471 million kilometre) journey aboard @NASAPersevere ended with the ultimate drop of 4 inches (10 centimetre) from the rover’s stomach to the floor of Mars at the moment. Subsequent milestone? Survive the evening.”
{A photograph} accompanying the tweet confirmed Perseverance had pushed away from the helicopter and its “airfield” after dropping to the floor.
Ingenuity had been feeding off the Perseverance’s energy system however will now have to make use of its personal battery to run a significant heater to guard its unshielded electrical parts from freezing and cracking through the bitter Martian evening.
“This heater retains the inside at about 45 levels F (7 levels Celsius) by way of the bitter chilly of the Martian evening, the place temperatures can drop to as little as -130F (-90 levels Celsius),” Bob Balaram, Mars Helicopter Venture chief engineer on the Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
