Ingenuity (helicopter)

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"Mars Helicopter" redirects here. For Mars helicopters and other rotorcraft in general, see Mars aircraft.

Ingenuity
Part of Mars 2020
upright=300px
TypeUAV helicopter
ManufacturerJet Propulsion Laboratory
Specifications
Dimensions
  • Fuselage (body): 13.6 cm × 19.5 cm × 16.3 cm (5.4 in × 7.7 in × 6.4 in)[1]
  • Landing legs: 0.384 m (1 ft 3.1 in)[1]
Power350 watts[1][2]
Instruments

Ingenuity is a robotic rotorcraft that is planned to be used to test the technology to scout targets of interest on Mars, and help plan the best driving route for future Mars rovers.[3][4] The small drone helicopter is planned for deployment about 60 days after the landing of the Perseverance rover on 18 February 2021 as part of the NASA Mars 2020 mission.[5]

It is planned to make the first powered flight on any planet beyond Earth,[6] and is expected to fly up to five times during its 30-day test campaign, early in the rover's mission, as it is primarily a technology demonstration.[1][7] Each flight is planned to be at altitudes ranging from 3–5 m (10–16 ft) above the ground.[1] In up to 90 seconds per flight, it could travel as far as 50 m (160 ft) downrange and then back to the starting area.[1] It can use autonomous control during its short flights, although flights will be telerobotically planned and scripted by controllers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. It will communicate with the Perseverance rover directly after each landing. If it works as expected, NASA could build on the design for future Mars aerial missions.[8]

MiMi Aung is the project lead.[9] Other contributors include AeroVironment Inc., NASA Ames Research Center, and NASA Langley Research Center.[10]

Design

Flight characteristics of Ingenuity
Rotor speed 2400 rpm[1][11]
Blade tip speed <0.7 Mach[12]
Operational time 1 to 5 flights within 30 sols[1][2]
Flight time Up to 90 seconds per flight[1]
Maximum range, flight 50 m (160 ft)[1]
Maximum range, radio 1,000 m (3,300 ft)[8]
Maximum altitude 5 m (16 ft)[1]
Maximum speed
  • Horizontal: 10 m/s (33 ft/s)[10]
  • Vertical: 3 m/s (9.8 ft/s)[10]
Battery capacity 35–40 Wh (130–140 kJ)[6]
Diagram showing the components of Ingenuity

Ingenuity is designed to be a technology demonstrator by JPL to assess whether this technology can fly safely, and provide better mapping and guidance that would give future mission controllers more information to help with travel routes planning and hazard avoidance, as well as identifying points of interest for the rover.[13][14][15] The helicopter is designed to provide overhead images with approximately ten times the resolution of orbital images, and will provide images of features that may be occluded from the cameras of the Perseverance rover.[16] It is expected that such scouting may enable future rovers to safely drive up to three times as far per sol.[17]

The helicopter uses contra-rotating coaxial rotors about 1.2 m (4 ft) in diameter. Its payload is a high resolution downward-looking camera for navigation, landing, and science surveying of the terrain, and a communication system to relay data to the Perseverance rover.[18] Although it is an aircraft, it was constructed to spacecraft specifications in order to endure the g-force and vibration during launch. It also includes radiation-resistant systems capable of operating in the frigid environment of Mars. The inconsistent Mars magnetic field precludes the use of a compass for navigation, so it uses a solar tracker camera integrated to JPL's visual inertial navigation system. Some additional inputs include gyros, visual odometry, tilt sensors, altimeter, and hazard detectors.[19] It was designed to use solar panels to recharge its batteries, which are six Sony Li-ion cells with 35–40 Wh (130–140 kJ) of battery energy capacity[6] (nameplate capacity of 2 Ah).[8]

The helicopter uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor with a Linux operating system.[20] Among other functions, this controls the visual navigation algorithm via a velocity estimate derived from features tracked with a camera.[8] The Qualcomm processor is connected to two flight-control microcontroller units (MCUs) to perform the necessary flight-control functions.[8] It also carries an IMU and a Garmin LIDAR Lite v3 laser altimeter.[20] Communications with the rover are through a radio link using low-power Zigbee communication protocols, implemented via 900 MHz SiFlex 02 chipsets mounted in both the rover and helicopter.[8] The communication system is designed to relay data at 250 kbit/s over distances of up to 1,000 m (3,300 ft).[8]

The helicopter is attached to the underside of the Perseverance rover, which landed on 18 February 2021, and should be deployed to the surface about 60 days after the landing.[1] Then, the rover is expected to drive approximately 100 m (330 ft) away for the beginning of the Ingenuity flights.[21][22]

Testing

In 2019, preliminary designs of Ingenuity were tested on Earth in simulated Mars atmospheric and gravity conditions. For flight testing, a large vacuum chamber was used to simulate the very low atmospheric pressure of Mars – filled with carbon dioxide to approximately 0.60% of standard atmospheric pressure at sea level on Earth – which is roughly equivalent to a helicopter flying at 34,000 m (112,000 ft) altitude in the atmosphere of Earth. In order to simulate the much reduced gravity field of Mars, 62% of Earth's gravity was offset by a line pulling upwards during flight tests.[6]

Future Mars rover design iteration

The Ingenuity technology demonstrator could form the foundation on which more capable aircraft might be developed for aerial exploration of Mars and other planetary targets with an atmosphere.[13][8][23] The next generation of rotorcraft could be in the range between 5 and 15 kg (11 and 33 lb) with science payloads between 0.5 and 1.5 kg (1.1 and 3.3 lb). These potential aircraft could have direct communication to an orbiter and may or may not continue to work with a landed asset.[22] Future helicopters could be used to explore special regions with exposed water ice or brines where Earth microbial life could potentially survive. Mars helicopters may also be considered for fast retrieval of small sample caches back to a Mars ascent vehicle for return to Earth such as the one to be launched in 2026.[24][8]

Development

NASA's JPL and AeroVironment published the conceptual design in 2014 for a scout helicopter to accompany a rover.[10][25][26] By mid 2016, US$15 million was being requested to keep development of the helicopter on track.[27] By December 2017, engineering models of the vehicle had been tested in a simulated Martian atmosphere[8][28] and models were undergoing testing in the Arctic, but its inclusion in the mission had not yet been approved nor funded.[29] The United States federal budget, announced in March 2018, provided US$23 million for the helicopter for one year[30][31] and it was announced on 11 May 2018 that the helicopter could be developed and tested in time to be included in the Mars 2020 mission.[32] The helicopter underwent extensive flight-dynamics and environment testing,[8][33] and was then mounted on the underside of the Perseverance rover in August 2019.[34] Its mass is just under 1.8 kg (4.0 lb)[33] and JPL has specified that it is planned to have a design life of 5 flights on Mars.[35][32] The helicopter was named by Vaneeza Ruppani, an 11th grader at Tuscaloosa County High School in Northport, Alabama, who submitted an essay into NASA's "Name the Rover" contest.[36][37] NASA has invested about US$80 million to build the Mars Helicopter Ingenuity and about US$5 million to operate the helicopter.[24]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Cite error: The named reference landing press kit was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b "Mars Helicopter". mars.nasa.gov. NASA. Archived from the original on 16 April 2020. Retrieved 2 May 2020. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  3. ^ Chang, Kenneth (23 June 2020). "Mars Is About to Have Its "Wright Brothers Moment" – As part of its next Mars mission, NASA is sending an experimental helicopter to fly through the red planet's thin atmosphere". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 23 June 2020. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  4. ^ Leone, Dan (19 November 2015). "Elachi Touts Helicopter Scout for Mars Sample-Caching Rover". SpaceNews. Archived from the original on 21 February 2021. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
  5. ^ Agle, D.C.; Hautaluoma, Gray; Johnson, Alana (23 June 2020). "How NASA's Mars Helicopter Will Reach the Red Planet's Surface". NASA. Archived from the original on 21 February 2021. Retrieved 23 June 2020. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  6. ^ a b c d First Flight on Another Planet!. Veritasium. 10 August 2019. Archived from the original on 28 July 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2020 – via YouTube.
  7. ^ Decision expected soon on adding helicopter to Mars 2020, Jeff Fout, SpaceNews, 4 May 2018
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Mars Helicopter Technology Demonstrator Archived 1 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine J. (Bob) Balaram, Timothy Canham, Courtney Duncan, Matt Golombek, Håvard Fjær Grip, Wayne Johnson, Justin Maki, Amelia Quon, Ryan Stern, and David Zhu. American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), SciTech Forum Conference; 8–12 January 2018, Kissimmee, Florida doi:10.2514/6.2018-0023 Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  9. ^ MiMi Aung – Autonomous Systems Deputy Division Manager Archived 5 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine NASA/JPL Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  10. ^ a b c d Generation of Mars Helicopter Rotor Model for Comprehensive Analyses Archived 1 January 2020 at the Wayback Machine, Witold J. F. Koning, Wayne Johnson, Brian G. Allan, NASA, 2018 Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  11. ^ "Mars Helicopter Fact Sheet" (PDF). NASA. February 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 March 2020. Retrieved 2 May 2020. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  12. ^ Mars Helicopter Scout. video presentation at Caltech Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  13. ^ a b Brown, Dwayne; Wendel, JoAnna; Agle, D.C.; Northon, Karen (11 May 2018). "Mars Helicopter to Fly on NASA's Next Red Planet Rover Mission". NASA. Archived from the original on 11 May 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2018. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
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  18. ^ Volpe, Richard. "2014 Robotics Activities at JPL" (PDF). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. NASA. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 February 2021. Retrieved 1 September 2015. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  19. ^ Heading Estimation via Sun Sensing for Autonomous Navigation Archived 21 February 2021 at the Wayback Machine, Parth Shah, 2017
  20. ^ a b "upHow NASA Designed a Helicopter That Could Fly Autonomously on Mars". IEEE Spectrum. 17 February 2021. Archived from the original on 19 February 2021. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
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  24. ^ a b "Mars 2020 Perseverance Launch Press Kit" (PDF). NASA. 24 June 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 July 2020. Retrieved 20 August 2020. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  25. ^ J. Balaram and P. T. Tokumaru, "Rotorcrafts for Mars Exploration", in 11th International Planetary Probe Workshop, 2014, Bibcode 2014LPICo1795.8087B https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014LPICo1795.8087B/abstract Archived 17 February 2021 at the Wayback Machine
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  27. ^ Berger, Eric (24 May 2016). "Four wild technologies lawmakers want NASA to pursue". ARS Technica. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
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  29. ^ Dubois, Chantelle (29 November 2017). "Drones on Mars? NASA Projects May Soon Use Drones for Space Exploration". All About Circuits. Archived from the original on 7 December 2017. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
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  32. ^ a b Mars Helicopter to Fly on NASA's Next Red Planet Rover Mission Archived 11 May 2018 at the Wayback Machine Karen Northon, NASA, 11 May 2018 Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  33. ^ a b Agle, AG; Johnson, Alana (28 March 2019). "NASA's Mars Helicopter Completes Flight Tests". NASA. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 28 March 2019. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
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  37. ^ Agle, D.C.; Cook, Jia-Rui; Johnson, Alana (29 April 2020). "Q&A with the Student Who Named Ingenuity, NASA's Mars Helicopter". NASA. Archived from the original on 4 June 2020. Retrieved 29 April 2020. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ingenuity helicopter.
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