Tag: Jet Propulsion Laboratory
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Live coverage: NASA confirms successful first flight of Mars helicopter
Live coverage of the the Ingenuity helicopter’s flight test campaign on Mars. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter.
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NASA schedules first Mars helicopter test flight for Monday
After some long-distance troubleshooting, NASA’s Ingenuity Mars helicopter will attempt the first flight of its kind on another world Monday in a demonstration that could open the door to a new era of interplanetary aerial scouts. Engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California uplinked commands for Ingenuity’s test flight Sunday, setting the stage for…
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Mars helicopter needs a software update before attempting first flight
NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter unlocked its rotor blades, allowing them to spin freely, on April 7. They had been held in place since before launch, and the unlocking is one of several milestones that must be met before the helicopter can attempt the first powered, controlled flight on another planet. This image was captured by the…
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NASA’s Mars helicopter ready for pre-flight checkouts
The Ingenuity helicopter on the surface of Mars. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Mission controllers plan to unlock the blades on NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter and spin them up to more than 2,000 rpm for a test later this week, a bit of “calisthenics” before the rotorcraft’s first flight in the atmosphere of Mars as soon as this weekend,…
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Perseverance rover’s zoomable camera checks out on Red Planet
The Perseverance rover’s Mastcam-Z instrument took this picture of the Martian horizon Tuesday, March 30. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS Scientists have confirmed the first zoomable camera on Mars is in top-top shape since arriving aboard NASA’s Perseverance rover in February, adding a long-distance survey capability to the robot’s scientific toolkit. The zoomable imaging instrument, which is actually…
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Mars rover deploys Ingenuity helicopter for historic flight
This camera view from the Perseverance rover shows the Ingenuity helicopter on the surface of Mars. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech NASA’s Perseverance rover released the Ingenuity helicopter onto the surface of Mars Saturday, leaving behind the experimental flying drone to survive on its own power until attempting a historic hop in the Red Planet’s thin carbon dioxide…
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Perseverance rover begins steps to deploy Mars helicopter
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated at 7:45 p.m. EDT (2345 GMT) with a fresh pictures of all four landing legs deployed. The Ingenuity helicopter deployed its final two carbon composite landing legs Tuesday. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter is being lowered from the belly of the Perseverance rover this week as ground teams run through a choreographed long-distance…
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NASA primed for historic flight of experimental Mars helicopter
An artist’s illustration of the Ingenuity Helicopter flying on Mars. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech NASA’s Perseverance rover will soon release a small rotorcraft onto the surface of Mars and drive a safe distance away to observe a series of historic test flights in the ultra-thin Martian atmosphere, which could begin around April 8, officials said this week.…
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Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter camera spots Perseverance rover after landing
The HiRISE camera NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter took this picture of the Perseverance rover Feb. 24. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona A high-resolution camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has spotted the Perseverance rover after landing on the Red Planet last month, showing the nuclear-powered robot sitting on the Martian surface with its supersonic parachute and…
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Perseverance rover aces first test drive on Mars
This image was taken during the first drive of NASA’s Perseverance rover on Mars on March 4, 2021, shortly after its first drive after landing. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Two weeks into its mission of exploration on Mars, NASA’s Perseverance rover has completed its first test drive and returned some 7,000 images from its station in Jezero…