Tag: helicopter
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Firefly Gets $13M to Build NASA Skyfall Mars Aeroshell
Is Firefly Aerospace Building the Heat Shield for NASA’s Mars Helicopter Mission? Yes — and JPL just cut a $13 million check to make it happen. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has awarded Firefly Aerospace a $13 million subcontract to design and manufacture the aeroshell for the Skyfall mission — NASA’s first nuclear-powered interplanetary probe, targeting…
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Ingenuity’s mission ends after 72 flights
NASA announced its Mars helicopter, Ingenuity, had ended its mission after experiencing an anomaly during its 72nd flight on Jan. 18. Images recovered after the flight showed severe damage to at least one of the aircraft’s rotor blades, making further flights impossible. The damage spelled the end for the small helicopter that made history in…
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1,000 sols into their mission, Perseverance and Ingenuity continue to investigate Jezero Crater
After celebrating their 1,000th sol, or Martian day, on Mars, NASA’s Perseverance rover and Ingenuity helicopter are continuing to explore Jezero Crater on the Red Planet. Recently, the robotic pair completed their extensive investigation of the ancient river delta within Jezero, which contains evidence of flowing water that may have once filled Jezero thousands of…
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The helicopter on Mars just flew again after surviving an emergency landing
By the standard of some of its previous flights, the most recent voyage of NASA’s intrepid Ingenuity helicopter on Mars was nothing special. Over a period of 24 seconds, the small helicopter rose to an altitude 5 meters above the red planet’s dusty surface and then touched back down in the same spot. During some…
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Mockups of NASA’s newest Mars rover and helicopter will kick off a road trip in Seattle
Virginia student Alex Mather shows off a mockup of the Perseverance rover at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in July 2020, while Alabama high-school student Vaneeza Rupani points to an Ingenuity helicopter mockup. The students won trips to the Perseverance launch as a reward for naming the two spacecraft. (Photo by Ken Kremer / SpaceUpClose.com) Seattle’s…
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NASA takes high-school student’s suggestion and gives Mars Helicopter a new name: Ingenuity
Picking up on a suggestion from an Alabama high-school junior, NASA has given an ingenious name to the first helicopter due to take flight on Mars. The new name, Ingenuity, was submitted by Vaneeza Rupani of Tuscaloosa County High School in Northport, Ala., for NASA’s “Name the Rover” essay contest. NASA went with a different…
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Perseverance Mars rover in critical pre-launch testing at Kennedy
With its launch just over three months away, NASA’s Perseverance rover is undergoing final critical pre-launch testing and checkouts at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The series of verification and validation activities not only occurred on the rover itself but also on the helicopter it will take with it to the Red Planet. Presently,…
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NASA adds a drone to its 2020 Mars rover
An artist’s conception shows the Mars Helicopter. (NASA / JPL-Caltech Illustration) NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine has given the thumbs-up to putting a helicopter on Mars. The Mars Helicopter, which is actually more of an autonomous drone, will be packed into the belly pan of a Red Planet rover that’s due for launch in 2020. For…