Ingenuity’s First Flight Date Has Been Determined Again

Of NASA He commissioned to search for traces of life on Mars. Perseverance’la The first flight date of the Ingenuity helicopter sent to Mars has been determined. The helicopter, which has so far been tied to Perseverance, was planned to make its first flight last Monday. However, it was decided to delay the helicopter due to the problem that arose while testing the wings. Today, Ingenuity’s 19 April Monday It was announced that it will perform its first flight.

On February 18 The tests of Ingenuity, which landed on the surface of Mars with Perseverance, did not end. In the last flight cancellation, NASA stated that the flight could be made on April 14 at the earliest. Finally, the date that the vehicle will take off on the Red Planet has been determined.

Why was the flight delayed?

The tests carried out for the smooth operation of Ingenuity have been continuing since February. The date, which was finally set as April 11, motivated the followers of the event. However, there was a problem in the high speed propeller test. The helicopter went from pre-flight mode to flight mode in a way that it should not have and it was decided to go forward in history to correct this software problem.

NASA decided to improve and reinstall Ingenuity’s flight software. This process naturally took a few days. Then with the tweet shared by NASA the helicopter successfully passed the high speed propeller test and it was reported to the public that the flight date was about to be determined.

What will Ingenuity’s mission be?

After taking off for 30 seconds and landing on the surface on April 19, Ingenuity will serve as Perseverance’s small scout. The helicopter will quickly capture images from different angles as it hovers over the surface of Mars. Unlike Perseverance, which plays the leading role, Ingenuity will be able to take detailed images from places that cannot be reached by land vehicles.