In this image made available by NASA, the Mars Ingenuity helicopter hovers above the surface of the planet during its second flight on Thursday, April 22, 2021. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS via AP)
By Marcia Dunn
NASA’s little Mars helicopter aced its second test flight Thursday, soaring even higher and longer than before.
The 4-pound (1.8-kilogram) chopper, named Ingenuity, hovered longer and also flew side to side this time, according to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. It achieved the intended altitude of 16 feet (5 meters) and even accelerated sideways 7 feet (2 meters).
This hop lasted 52 seconds, 13 seconds longer than the first one.
“Go big or go home!” JPL tweeted in announcing the Earth Day news.
The success came just three days after Ingenuity made the first powered flight by an aircraft on another planet. The helicopter carried a bit of wing fabric from the Wright Flyer that made similar history at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, in 1903.
Flight controllers had to wait four hours before learning Thursday's outcome. Like it did during Monday's 10-foot-high (3-meter-high) hop, the helicopter sent back a black and white photo showing its shadow against the dusty, rock-strewn surface now known as Wright Brothers Field.
“It sounds simple, but there are many unknowns regarding how to fly a helicopter on Mars," Ingenuity’s chief pilot, Havard Grip, said from JPL in a statement. “That’s why we’re here — to make these unknowns known.”
One of the challenges is the planet’s extremely thin atmosphere — 1% that of Earth's.
NASA plans up to three more test flights in the next 1 1/2 weeks, venturing higher each time with more complicated acrobatics. Ingenuity hitched a ride to Mars on the rover Perseverance, which photographed the proceedings from more than 200 feet (64 meters) away. The rover team allotted one month for the $85 million tech demo; The clock started ticking when Ingenuity was released from Perseverance's belly on April 3.
“We have two flights of Mars under our belts, which means that there is still a lot to learn during this month of Ingenuity," chief engineer Bob Balaram said in a statement.
Perseverance and Ingenuity arrived at Mars in mid-February, landing in an ancient river delta following a 6 1/2-month flight.
Once Ingenuity's flights are complete, Perseverance will set off on its journey to find any signs of past microscopic life. A robotic geologist, the rover will collect core samples of the most enticing rocks and set them aside for pickup by a future spacecraft a decade from now.
In another first, an experiment on the rover successfully converted Mars’ carbon-dioxide-rich atmosphere into pure oxygen this week. Five grams of oxygen was produced, according to NASA, the equivalent of 10 minutes of breathing for an astronaut. Large-scale production at Mars could yield oxygen not only for air, but also rocket fuel. More tests are planned over the next two years.
___
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Amazon plans to launch its first prototype satellites for Project Kuiper, an internet-from-space venture, in 2022. It's the first major step in the e-commerce giant's plan to rival SpaceX by building a network of satellites in space, providing internet to rural, underserved communities around the world. Loren Grush, senior science reporter for the Verge, discusses the project and how it could transform internet access moving forward.
The FDA is assessing whether the Moderna vaccine can cause heart problems in adolescents. Professor Peter Pitts, founder of the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest and former FDA Associate Commissioner, discusses what the FDA is looking into and what it means for the millions of kids yet to be vaccinated.
Pfizer posted an earnings beat in its third quarter, with revenue soaring over 134% thanks to solid Covid-19 vaccine sales. Pfizer also raised its outlook for the full-year, expecting revenue to surpass $80 billion. Peter Andersen, CEO & founder of Andersen Capital Management, joined Cheddar Movers to discuss.
Cheddar gets a look at Curiosity Stream's 'Ancient Oceans'; Deep-sea biologist Heather Bracken-Grissom sheds light on some of the monsters that we can and cannot explain lurking in the darkness of the ocean's depths; Tim Janssen, CEO of Sofar Ocean, discusses Sofar Ocean's latest round of Series B funding, and how Sofar Ocean is helping connect all five oceans to help everything from climate change to the global shipping industry.
Tim Janssen, CEO of Sofar Ocean, joins 'Cheddar Reveals' to discuss Sofar Ocean's latest round of Series B funding, and how Sofar Ocean is helping connect all five oceans to help everything from climate change to the global shipping industry.
Deep-sea biologist Heather Bracken-Grissom joins 'Cheddar Reveals' to shed light on some of the monsters that we can and cannot explain lurking in the darkness of the ocean's depths.
Leaders around the world have come together to discuss plans to bring action towards the Paris Agreement along with solutions on how to solve the evolving climate change crisis at the COP26 Summit. President and CEO of Center for International Environmental Law Carroll Muffett, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Rachel Cleetus, the policy director and lead economist of the climate and energy program for the Union of Concerned Scientists, joined Cheddar to break down some of the key goals from the COP26 summit and why leaders must focus on the science of climate change instead of getting bogged down by petty politics and the fossil fuel industry. "The main thing they have to do, make sure we're cutting our emissions sharply within this decade because the science shows that we have to cut global emissions in half by 2030 if we're going to meet our goals of averting some of the most catastrophic impacts of climate change," she said.
Coastal cities around the world are grappling with sea level rise. And building a seawall? Not so fast. While a sea wall can be effective in certain scenarios, it can make the effects of sea level rise worse. That’s why municipalities are looking into creative alternatives.
