A small Mars-copter confirmed that flight on other planets is possible. But before it could be deployed, Ingenuity had to travel around 480 million kilometers just to reach its mission site.
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00:00How was the Mars helicopter Ingenuity different from terrestrial helicopters?
00:09On Earth, helicopters are used to cover long distances quickly, or to fly into and out
00:15of places that are otherwise difficult to access.
00:20Ingenuity, though, was designed to show that flight is also possible on other planets and
00:27to test technologies for making it happen.
00:31That's why the little copter had to be as light as possible.
00:34Ingenuity weighed just under two kilos.
00:37It also had to be able to be folded together for the long journey to the Red Planet.
00:43The helicopter was packed beneath a protective cap for the trip, attached to the underside
00:48of the Mars rover Perseverance.
00:52The journey took seven months.
00:55During landing in February 2021, the small helicopter was shaken severely.
01:01Before its mission could begin, it first had to get out of the bonds that anchored it to
01:06Perseverance.
01:07Then it had to unfold, step by step, before detaching from the rover completely.
01:16Helicopters take off and land vertically.
01:18When their rotor blades turn, they generate lift due to the air flowing past them.
01:25The air on Mars is thin.
01:28That's why Ingenuity's rotor blades had to revolve five times faster than they would
01:32on Earth.
01:33It was powered by batteries charged by a solar panel.
01:37Most of the energy the copter collected was used to keep its electronics from freezing
01:41at temperatures down to minus 80 degrees Celsius.
01:48On Earth, helicopters are controlled by pilots.
01:52Ingenuity had to fly autonomously.
01:55Radio signals take up to 20 minutes to reach Mars from here.
02:00So to navigate, Ingenuity also had intelligent technology on board, a camera and sensors
02:07able to measure acceleration, inclination and altitude.
02:11The team on Earth only had to send it navigation information, launch times and planned speeds.
02:18It completed 72 flights on the Martian surface.
02:22The engineers had hoped for five.