NASA's Ingenuity Martian helicopter landed on the Red Planet

Mars rover Perseverance jettisoned a helicopter on April 4, 2021, reports space.

NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter is seen on the surface of the Red Planet after deployment by the Perseverance rover on April 4, 2021. (©NASA/JPL-Caltech)

First helicopter on Mars now officially.

NASA's Mars Ingenuity helicopter landed on the surface of the Red Planet after being ejected by its base ship, the Perseverance rover, the space agency announced late Saturday (April 4). There is a little more than a week left until the first flight of the helicopter.

"#MarsHelicopter landing confirmed! Its 293 million mile (471 million km) journey aboard @NASAPersevere ended today with its final plunge 4 inches (10 cm) from the rover's belly to the surface of Mars,” NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, said in a statement. wrote on his Twitter. "The next milestone? Survive noch."

NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter is seen on the surface of the Red Planet after deployment by the Perseverance rover on April 4, 2021. (©NASA/JPL-Caltech)

Weighing just 4 pounds (1,8 kilograms), Ingenuity is a tiny solar-powered helicopter that uses a rechargeable battery to keep its systems warm during the harsh Martian night.

Until today, Ingenuity was attached to Perseverance's belly, relying on the rover's nuclear system to stay warm.

The helicopter now uses an internal battery to power the vital heater.

"This heater maintains an internal temperature of about 45 degrees Fahrenheit during the bitter cold of a Martian night, when temperatures can drop to -130 F (minus 90 degrees Celsius)," NASA's Mars Helicopter Project Chief Engineer Bob wrote on Friday (April 2). Balaram. "It conveniently protects key components, such as the battery and some sensitive electronic devices, but is damaged at very low temperatures."

Ingenuity is expected to make its first flight on April 11, and data from this test will reach Earth on April 12, NASA officials said. The drone, worth 85 million dollars, is the first helicopter sent to another world and is intended for testing the technologies of future aircraft on other planets. Ingenuity has two cameras for documenting the flights, which will also be observed by the Perseverance rover.

NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter is seen on the surface of the Red Planet after deployment by the Perseverance rover on April 4, 2021. (©NASA/JPL-Caltech)

If all goes well, Ingenuity will perform a series of even longer flybys over Jezero Crater (where the Perseverance rover landed on February 18) over the next 31 Martian days, called sols. Each flight must reach a height of no more than 16,5 feet (5 m) and be performed at a distance of 300 feet (90 m).

NASA plans a series of pre-flight tests to fire up Ingenuity's four rotor blades (which spin at up to 2537 revolutions per minute) while Perseverance watches them from a safe distance. Before the first flight, the rover will be placed at a safe distance of 16,5 feet from the drone.

But first, of course, Ingenuity must survive the bitter cold of its first night on Mars. The helicopter battery will ask the heater to maintain a constant temperature of about 5 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 15 degrees Celsius).

"The ingenuity team will be looking forward to hearing back from the helicopter the next day," Balaram wrote on Friday. "Survived the night? Is the solar panel working properly?”

This figure shows the activities planned by NASA for the Ingenuity Mars helicopter. (©NASA / JPL-Caltech)

Mission team members will closely monitor Ingenuity's temperature and battery performance over the weekend to make sure the helicopter is healthy, Balaram added. If all goes well, Ingenuity will be able to move on to rotor tests and second system checks before first flight, he said.

Despite all the ingenuity, this helicopter is only part of the Perseverance rover's ambitious mission to explore the ancient delta of the Jesero crater on Mars. The rover is expected to explore the surrounding area for traces of ancient life over the next two years. Persistence will also collect samples of Martian rocks that will be returned to Earth in a subsequent mission.

First publications about the intention to land a helicopter on Mars appeared in 2018.