We Want to Hear From You!

Keep Local News Thriving in the San Fernando Valley.

Support the San Fernando Valley Sun Today!

$
$
$

Your contribution is appreciated.

  • News
    • Local
    • National
    • World
    • Valley Sportscape
  • lifestyles
    • Food, Dining and Recipes
    • Health & Family
    • Horoscope
    • Home and Garden
    • Peter’s Garage
  • Opinion
    • Letter to the Editor
    • COMMENTARY
    • Polls
  • Money
  • Calendar
    • Calendar of Events
    • Submit an Event
  • Classifieds
  • Public Notices
    • Register Your DBA
    • Legals & Public Notices
    • Public Notices
  • Obituaries
    • Obituaries
    • Submit an Obituary
  • El Sol
  • Local
  • Mundo
  • Horoscopo
  • Deportes
  • Entretenimiento
  • Photo Galleries
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
    • Media Kit
    • Legals
    • Obituary
    • Classifieds
  • Register Your DBA
  • Subscription Services
    • Subscribe to the newsletter
    • Paid Mailed Subscription
  • E-Editions
    • The Sun
    • El Sol
  • Guides and Resources
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • Support Us
Skip to content
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
    • Media Kit
    • Legals
    • Obituary
    • Classifieds
  • Register Your DBA
  • Subscription Services
    • Subscribe to the newsletter
    • Paid Mailed Subscription
  • E-Editions
    • The Sun
    • El Sol
  • Guides and Resources
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • Support Us
SF Sun logo

The San Fernando Valley Sun

Your Bilingual Community Newspaper for the Entire San Fernando Valley

El Sol
  • News
    • Local
    • National
    • World
    • Valley Sportscape
  • lifestyles
    • Food, Dining and Recipes
    • Health & Family
    • Horoscope
    • Home and Garden
    • Peter’s Garage
  • Opinion
    • Letter to the Editor
    • COMMENTARY
    • Polls
  • Money
  • Calendar
    • Calendar of Events
    • Submit an Event
  • Classifieds
  • Public Notices
    • Register Your DBA
    • Legals & Public Notices
    • Public Notices
  • Obituaries
    • Obituaries
    • Submit an Obituary
  • El Sol
  • Local
  • Mundo
  • Horoscopo
  • Deportes
  • Entretenimiento
  • Photo Galleries
Posted innews/local

NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Succeeds in Historic First Flight

The small rotorcraft, hovering above Jezero Crater, demonstrates that powered, controlled flight on another planet is possible.
by SFVS Staff April 21, 2021April 21, 2021

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter took this shot, capturing its own shadow, while hovering over the Martian surface on April 19, 2021, during the first instance of powered, controlled flight on another planet. It used its navigation camera, which autonomously tracks the ground during flight. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter became the first aircraft in history to make a powered, controlled flight on another planet.

The Ingenuity team at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California confirmed the flight succeeded after receiving data from the helicopter via NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover at 3:46 a.m.on Monday, April 19.

“Ingenuity is the latest in a long and storied tradition of NASA projects achieving a space exploration goal once thought impossible,” said acting NASA Administrator Steve Jurczyk.

“The X-15 was a pathfinder for the space shuttle. Mars Pathfinder and its Sojourner rover did the same for three generations of Mars rovers. We don’t know exactly where Ingenuity will lead us, but today’s results indicate the sky – at least on Mars – may not be the limit.”

The solar-powered helicopter first became airborne at 12:34 a.m. — 12:33 Local Mean Solar Time (Mars time) — a time the Ingenuity team determined would have optimal energy and flight conditions. Altimeter data indicate Ingenuity climbed to its prescribed maximum altitude of 10 feet (3 meters) and maintained a stable hover for 30 seconds.

It then descended, touching back down on the surface of Mars after logging a total of 39.1 seconds of flight. Additional details on the test are expected in upcoming downlinks.

Ingenuity’s initial flight demonstration was autonomous – piloted by onboard guidance, navigation, and control systems running algorithms developed by the team at JPL. Because data must be sent to and returned from the Red Planet over hundreds of millions of miles using orbiting satellites and NASA’s Deep Space Network, Ingenuity cannot be flown with a joystick, and its flight was not observable from Earth in real time.

NASA Associate Administrator for Science Thomas Zurbuchen announced the name for the Martian airfield on which the flight took place.

“Now, 117 years after the Wright brothers succeeded in making the first flight on our planet, NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter has succeeded in performing this amazing feat on another world,” Zurbuchen said. “While these two iconic moments in aviation history may be separated by time and 173 million miles of space, they now will forever be linked.”

Latest News

Providence Holy Cross Seeks Help Identifying Traffic Accident Victim

CSUN Students Partner with Alum to Help Unhoused Community College Students

Ex-Deputy: Mother on Trial for Murder Said She Didn’t Hit Her Children

Últimas Noticias

Vivir en un Automóvil: Dos Ejecutivos de Hope the Mission lo Intentan

Los Estudiantes de CSUN se Asocian con Alum para Ayudar a los Estudiantes de Colegios Comunitarios sin Vivienda

Horóscopo

EVENTOS Locales – Semana de 2 de febrero, 2023

As one of NASA’s technology demonstration projects, the 19.3-inch-tall (49-centimeter-tall) Ingenuity Mars Helicopter contains no science instruments inside its tissue-box-size fuselage. Instead, the 4-pound (1.8-kg) rotorcraft is intended to demonstrate whether future exploration of the Red Planet could include an aerial perspective. 

“The Mars Helicopter project has gone from ‘blue sky’ feasibility study to workable engineering concept to achieving the first flight on another world in a little over six years,” said Michael Watkins, director of JPL. “That this project has achieved such a historic first is testimony to the innovation and doggedness of our team here at JPL, as well as at NASA’s Langley and Ames Research Centers, and our industry partners. It’s a shining example of the kind of technology push that thrives at JPL and fits well with NASA’s exploration goals.”

Parked about 211 feet (64.3 meters) away at Van Zyl Overlook during Ingenuity’s historic first flight, the Perseverance rover not only acted as a communications relay between the helicopter and Earth, but also chronicled the flight operations with its cameras. The pictures from the rover’s Mastcam-Z and Navcam imagers will provide additional data on the helicopter’s flight.  

“We have been thinking for so long about having our Wright brothers moment on Mars, and here it is,” said MiMi Aung, project manager of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter at JPL.

“We will take a moment to celebrate our success and then take a cue from Orville and Wilbur regarding what to do next. History shows they got back to work – to learn as much as they could about their new aircraft – and so will we.”

Perseverance touched down with Ingenuity attached to its belly on Feb. 18. Deployed to the surface of Jezero Crater on April 3, Ingenuity is currently on the 16th sol, or Martian day, of its 30-sol (31-Earth day) flight test window.

Over the next three sols, the helicopter team will receive and analyze all data and imagery from the test and formulate a plan for the second experimental test flight, scheduled for no earlier than April 22. If the helicopter survives the second flight test, the Ingenuity team will consider how best to expand the flight profile.

Related

Tagged: no-byline

RSS Latest News

  • Providence Holy Cross Seeks Help Identifying Traffic Accident Victim
  • CSUN Students Partner with Alum to Help Unhoused Community College Students
  • Ex-Deputy: Mother on Trial for Murder Said She Didn’t Hit Her Children
  • LA City Council Seeks More Funding for Winter Shelter Program
  • Spot the King of Planets: Observe Jupiter

SF Sun logo
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • Support Us

About Us

A newspaper of historical dimensions, the San Fernando Sun has been publishing continuously since 1904 reflecting the valley’s historical and cultural development. Today, as in those pioneering days, the weekly San Fernando Sun leads the valley residents with insightful editorial, community involvement and valuable consumer information.

Contact Us

sanfernandosun.com
1150 San Fernando Road Suite 100
San Fernando, CA 91340
Phone: (818) 365-3111
Email: production@sanfernandosun.com

 

© 2023 Your Bilingual Community Newspaper for the Entire San Fernando Valley. Proudly powered by Newspack by Automattic
Go to mobile version