NASA recently dropped a video showcasing the testing of Mars helicopter rotor blades at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) on September 15, just one day prior to the record-breaking flight of NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter on the Red Planet.
Following Ingenuity’s achievement, NASA is gearing up to integrate helicopter-like drones into future Mars missions as well, with more robust designs than their predecessor, which has already totaled 66 flights. The new dual rotor system tested at JPL boasts two carbon-fiber blades measuring over 50 inches in diameter, nearly 4 inches longer than Ingenuity’s.
The rotors were tested inside JPL’s 25-Foot Space Simulator, a vacuum chamber used by NASA engineers to expose spacecraft systems to similar conditions they will face during a mission. The steel compartment spans 85 feet in height and can simulate extreme temperatures and solar radiation found in the vacuum of interplanetary space.
Related: NASA’s Ingenuity Mars helicopter flies on back-to-back days to prep for ‘solar conjunction’ (video)
Over three weeks, the dual rotors were spun at increasing speeds to test their durability. A NASA video from the space simulation chamber shows a test on September 15 during which the blades spun at Mach 0.95, almost at the speed of sound.
Coincidentally, Ingenuity completed a record-breaking flight the following day, reaching an altitude of 66 feet. That record was surpassed during an October 5 flight when Ingenuity flew to a height of 79 feet.
Ingenuity, flying alongside NASA’s Perseverance rover, landed on Mars in February 2021. Initially intended for just five flights as a proof of concept, the helicopter has now spent nearly 2 cumulative hours in the Martian air, covering a total of 9 miles.
The September 16 flight marks a significant milestone, occurring alongside the terrestrial testing of its successor spacecraft components just the day before.
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— Mars helicopter Ingenuity: First aircraft to fly on Red Planet
— Perseverance Mars rover snaps amazing shot of dusty Ingenuity helicopter (photo)
— Mars helicopter Ingenuity snaps incredible aerial photo of Perseverance rover during 51st flight
Ingenuity is a test vehicle that has far outlasted its initial life expectancy. The ability to execute nearly simultaneous interplanetary flight tests of hardware in both simulated and off-world environments speaks volumes about humanity’s progress in space exploration and the space agency’s commitment to innovation in this final frontier.
