The United States space agency, NASA, has achieved a remarkable feat by flying a helicopter on Mars. This extraordinary aircraft, named Ingenuity and affectionately called “Ginny,” is a part of NASA’s Perseverance rover, which was launched in 2020 and is still active on the Martian surface.
Dr. J. Bob Balaram, an Indian citizen currently working at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), is the mastermind behind the design of this groundbreaking aircraft. Despite facing skepticism, Dr. Balaram persevered and successfully created the Ingenuity helicopter. He is an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras, where he studied Mechanical Engineering.
Ingenuity is a true marvel of technology, weighing only 1.8 kg. It is constructed using ultra-lightweight carbon fiber and stands at just half a meter tall. Flying in the alien atmosphere of Mars posed a significant challenge due to the atmospheric density, which is around one-hundredth of Earth’s at sea level or equivalent to the density at an altitude of 27,000 meters, a height that no existing helicopter has ever reached.
To enable flight on Mars, the blades of Ingenuity rotate at an astonishing speed of 2400 to 2900 revolutions per minute, approximately 10 times faster than any helicopter on Earth.
Ingenuity serves as an experimental platform to test the feasibility of powered and controlled flight on another planet. It arrived on Mars as a stowaway on the Perseverance rover on February 18, 2021, and was deployed to the surface on April 3, 2021.
Once the rover reached a suitable location, known as an “airfield,” Ingenuity was released to conduct a series of test flights over a 30-Martian-day experimental window, similar to India’s Chandrayaan rover Pragyan.
Dr. Balaram lauded the success of India’s historic moon mission and expressed his support for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to continue pursuing its space exploration goals. He also shared that his own technological marvel, the Ingenuity helicopter, has completed its technology demonstration after achieving three successful flights.
During the first flight on April 19, 2021, Ingenuity took off, climbed to an altitude of approximately 3 meters, hovered momentarily in the Martian air, completed a turn, and landed safely. This marked a significant milestone, as it was the first-ever powered and controlled flight in the extremely thin Martian atmosphere, and also the first flight accomplished beyond Earth.
Since then, Ingenuity has embarked on additional experimental flights, covering greater distances and achieving higher altitudes. It has successfully completed a total of 64 flights in the thin Martian atmosphere. Dr. Balaram described flying Ingenuity as a truly momentous achievement, comparable to the historical “Wright Brothers moment” on another planet.
In the near future, a joint space initiative between India and the United States will feature the launch of NISAR, an Earth imaging satellite. Scheduled to take place from Sriharikota in early 2023, this collaboration further reinforces the strong ties between the two countries in the realm of space exploration.
Dr. Balaram, a soft-spoken individual, shared that he will be retiring from NASA soon, but he intends to contribute towards inspiring Indian students and fostering their interest in the wonders of space. Drawing from his own experience, he believes that there are countless talented students in India who have the potential to make significant contributions and bring pride to the nation.
