Ingenuity Helicopter Sets A Flight Range Record
NASA’s Ingenuity unmanned robotic helicopter covered 705.6 meters (2,315 feet) in 135 seconds on December 21, 2023, during its 69th flight to Mars. Its speed was more than 36 kilometers per hour.
The agency reported that on December 20, the helicopter made its 69th flight. It should be said that for him these are not just tests. For Ingenuity to work, it is necessary to remain within communication limits with the rover, through which commands are transmitted to it from Earth. If the helicopter lingers somewhere in the dunes of Mars, it will not fly again, and it is unlikely that they will look for it with the help of a rover. The rover has its own work program.
On its 69th flight, the helicopter set a range record. In one flight, the device covered 705 m. The previous record was set in April 2022. Then the 1.8-kg rotorcraft flew 704 m. It is not difficult to understand that over the past year and a half, both the solar panels of the helicopter and its battery have worn out.
Let us recall that the Perseverance rover along with the Ingenuity helicopter were delivered to Mars by the Mars 2020 space mission on February 18, 2021. Its complete unloading onto the surface of Mars was carried out on April 3, 2021, and its first flight was carried out on April 19, 2021.
