Important Innovations

   World Aviation History is Made                               Source:  NASA - Ingenuity 1st Image First Helicopter That Flew on Another Planet NASA's Ingenuity Mars helicopter has succeeded in achieving the first powered, controlled flight on another planet.  It used its navigation camera, which autonomously tracks the ground beneath Ingenuity during flight, to take its first black and white image from the air.  The small rotocraft has made world history with its first flight.  It is part of a long series of NASA achievements that were thought to be technologically impossible. First Flight Ingenuity is solar-powered.  During its first flight, it reached a height of ten feet and hovered steadily for thirty seconds before landing smoothly back on Mars after 39.1 seconds of flight.  The flight test was totally autonomous.  Because of Mars' nearly 200 million mile distance from Earth, NASA can not control Ingenuity with a joystick.  Ingenuity's flight was powered and piloted

  Ingenuity Lands on Mars                            Source:  NASA Ingenuity Landing on Mars First Helicopter on Another Planet NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity is an aviation wonder.  It is the world's first helicopter to land on Mars after being dropped out of its mother ship Perseverance Rover.  The final drop was 4 inches and Ingenuity's legs fully deployed.  The helicopter's first flight is scheduled for April 11 with data on how its systems performed and what it observed on Mars coming back to NASA on April 12.  These history making milestones are occurring 293 million miles away from Earth.  Technological Marvel Ingenuity is a technological marvel.  It weighs just 4 pounds and unfolds like a butterfly.  The vehicle is solar powered and relies on a rechargeable battery to power an internal heater to stay warm during the harshly cold Martian nights that can go down to -130 degrees F.  The helicopter interior needs to be about 45 degrees F to preserve the sensitive

  New, Spectacular Detailed Photos of the Red Planet                                                       Source:  NASA Mastcam-Z, Two Camera System on Mars NASA's Perseverance Mars rover is sending back first-of-a-kind, detailed pictures of Mars.  The images are coming from Perseverance's Mastcam-Z camera system.  It's part of the highly advanced technologies which NASA has built into the Perseverance rover Mars mission, which are creating a series of historic space firsts. Search For Ancient Life on Mars The pictures beaming back from Mars are being taken within the 28 mile wide Jezero Crater, where researchers say a river delta existed billions of years ago.  It is a very promising location to search for ancient microbial life on Mars.  Searching for ancient Martian life is a primary mission for Perseverance and the Mastcam-Z system serves as the technological eyes of the search. Highly Advanced Camera Technology Mastcam-Z is a two camera system that can zoom in, focus,

  NASA's Tiny Helicopter Ingenuity Sends Mars Status Report                                                                        Source:  NASA Perseverance and Ingenuity NASA's Perseverance rover's travelling companion to Mars, mini-helicopter Ingenuity, has sent a positive status report to NASA Mission Control.  Ingenuity sent it by phone.  Ingenuity is a small helicopter drone that will detach from Perseverance and attempt the first drone flight on another planet.  It weighs 4 pounds and is specifically designed to fly in the Martian atmosphere which is 100 times thinner than the Earth's atmosphere.  The helicopter is equipped with a camera and will take images of the Martian surface. Next Steps Perseverance will take the next 30 to 60 days to find an area suitable for Ingenuity to take off and land on.  In the next several days, the mission is to get Ingenuity's batteries fully charged.  The power source is Perseverance's radioisotope power reactor.  NASA h

  Perseverance   Mission Impossible Just Accomplished                                         Source:  NASA Perseverance Perseverance Free to Roam Mars For Two Years NASA's most advanced rover has defied the stiff Martian  odds and successfully landed on Mars.  Cheers erupted late today in the NASA control room as the Perseverance rover, NASA's most technologically advanced rover that the team built for ten years, touched down safely on the Red Planet.  Hundreds of major technological maneuvers had to go right for this historic accomplishment.  The most important:  what NASA calls "the last 7 minutes of terror" when Perseverance was out of contact with NASA because of an 11 minute delay in radio wave communications with the Red Planet.  Perseverance was on its own maneuvering down to the surface of Mars on a rocket powered jet pack and finally lowered down by cables.  It is a technological wonder that worked! Bold and Ambitious Space Exploration This is NASA's mos

  Perseverance To Land On Mars February 18                                             Source:  NASA's Perseverance Robotic Geologist To Explore Mars NASA's highly advanced robotic rover Perseverance will land on Mars on Thursday.  The potential discoveries are huge as Perseverance is the most advanced rover NASA has built.  Perseverance will serve as a geologist on Mars, collecting rocks, minerals and soil samples.  The mission's purpose is to search for any signs of ancient life on Mars.  The rover will also have a small helicopter onboard to conduct the first drone flights on another planet. Amazing Technological Journey Perseverance has travelled onboard a spacecraft for the 300 million mile journey to Mars.  It will exit the spacecraft in a capsule for the descent into the Martian atmosphere.  The capsule will travel at a blistering 12,000 mph.  It will have to endure temperatures of 2,370 degrees F.  Then, rover will release by supersonic parachute travelling 750 mph

NASA's Ingenuity On Duty February 2021 Sourcee:  NASA Ingenuity Paired with Rover Perseverance The world's first Mars helicopter - NASA's Ingenuity - will start operations in Mars' Jezero Crater in February 2021.  It will be ferried there by NASA's Perseverance Rover.  This is the first ever helicopter that will be flying in another world.  It was developed by NASA along with Lockheed Martin and it's small, weighing just 4 pounds. The duo are expected to be launched from Cape Canaveral, FL aboard a rocket to Mars by NASA between July 30 and August 15, 2020.  It's a great new mission of rocket science. Delicate Maneuverings Once established on Mars, the Perseverance-Ingenuity travel maneuvers next February will be delicate.  Ingenuity will be attached horizontally under Perseverance for the February 18th landing at Jezero Crater on Mars.  The landing clearance is tight.  For 2 months, they'll stay together and hunt for a flat, unobstructed